The Poet's House, a groundbreaking adaptive reuse project designed by Tehran-based Next Office led by architect Alireza Taghaboni, has officially opened its doors in downtown Tehran, converting the former residence of renowned Iranian poet and dissident Ahmad Shamlou into a vibrant 900-square-meter cultural destination. Completed in 2025, the project preserves the building's original 1970s brick façade and structural shell while introducing a bold architectural intervention that reimagines the relationship between private memory and public space. The design centers on a second-floor wall inscribed with Shamlou's handwritten poem to his wife, which has been transformed into a three-dimensional steel promenade that slices through the building and extends from the courtyard to the rooftop, creating a dramatic dialogue between past and present.
Ahmad Shamlou, who died in 2000, remains one of Iran's most influential yet controversial literary figures. Known for his politically charged poetry that challenged authoritarian viewpoints, Shamlou endured multiple imprisonments throughout his career for his outspoken counter-viewpoints. His legacy continues to provoke strong reactions—his gravestone has been repeatedly vandalized by government supporters, underscoring the persistent tensions surrounding his work. The project was commissioned by a devoted admirer of Shamlou who sought to preserve the poet's physical memory while creating an accessible space for public engagement with his literary and political contributions. This initiative represents a rare architectural acknowledgment of a figure whose work still carries significant cultural weight and political sensitivity in contemporary Iran.
The project's most distinctive feature, known as the "Aida Wall," transforms a structural necessity into a powerful conceptual statement. The original brick load-bearing structure required significant reinforcement to meet modern safety standards. Rather than concealing this intervention, Taghaboni and his design team embraced it as an opportunity to create what they describe as a "semi-structural backbone" for the entire building. A new steel wall was erected along the interior surface bearing Shamlou's personal poem to his wife and muse, Aida. This element was then extruded into space, forming a jagged, expressive promenade that visitors can walk through and around. The steel was deliberately chosen for its capacity to age, rust, and respond formally to manipulation—capable of being cut, bent, and left unfinished—mirroring the raw, unfiltered quality of Shamlou's own poetic voice.
The architectural intervention fundamentally reconfigures the building's relationship to its urban context. What was once a private domestic courtyard has been reconceived as a public open space that invites the city into the poet's world. The programmatic layout includes exhibition areas dedicated to Shamlou's manuscripts and personal effects, a specialized library housing his extensive collection, a bookstore featuring contemporary Iranian literature, and a café and restaurant designed to serve as an informal gathering place for writers, scholars, and readers. The architects envision the space as both a memorial and a living center for literary culture, potentially anchoring an informal urban tour connecting significant sites in Shamlou's life throughout Tehran. The original building's expressive lintels and rounded corners—characteristic of mid-century Tehran residential architecture—have been meticulously preserved, creating a stark contrast with the raw industrial aesthetic of the new steel insertion.
Perhaps most notably, the design incorporates a principle of architectural reversibility that challenges conventional approaches to preservation. The steel structure was engineered so that it could theoretically be removed in the future, leaving Shamlou's original house fundamentally intact. This approach embodies a respectful yet critical stance toward memory itself—honoring the past without freezing it, transforming legacy without erasing it. The project stands as a testament to how architecture can navigate complex political and cultural terrain, offering a model for adaptive reuse that embraces tension and contradiction rather than seeking seamless integration. For Tehran's contemporary cultural scene, The Poet's House provides not only a physical space for remembering a literary giant but also a provocative statement about the role of architecture in processing contested histories and creating inclusive public space from private memory.
