The “Domus Eyes on Iran” project by the Italian Embassy in Tehran has produced a monographic supplement to the November issue of “Domus” magazine. The preview launch was held a few days ago in Giò Ponti’s Villa Namazee, built in Tehran in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The event was attended by the Italian Ambassador to Iran, Giuseppe Perrone, who emphasised that Ponti’s Villa was emblematic of Italian style and an extraordinary testimony to the cooperation and friendship between Italy and Iran. During the ceremony, the tenth and final episode of the “Domus Eyes on Iran” series was screened, dedicated to Villa Namazee, which, as Salvatore Licitra, grandson of the great Milanese architect and curator of the Ponti Archive, pointed out in the interview for the video-documentary, represents “one of the freest and most complete expressions of Gio’ Ponti’s thought”.
A few years ago, Ponti’s masterpiece was threatened with demolition by the then owner, who intended to replace it with a new development project. Thanks to an unprecedented mobilisation of the local architectural community, the Villa was saved and today it continues to stand in all its marvellous simplicity, as an exemplary model of an “Italian house”, among the middle-class dwellings and skyscrapers of Niavaran, North Tehran.
Over the past two years, the Italian Embassy in Tehran has promoted continuous awareness-raising activities on the historical and architectural significance of Ponti’s building, culminating in the organisation of cultural events on the site of the Villa itself, confirming the importance attributed by Italian institutions to this masterpiece of Italian architecture and its preservation and enhancement.
“Domus Eyes on Iran” is a project consisting of 10 documentaries, produced by the Italian Embassy in Tehran, which highlight the main stages (from the 1950s to the present day) of Domus’ interest in projects in Iran by Italian and Iranian architects and designers, turning the spotlight on the role of Italian and Iranian architects in modern and contemporary architecture and design and their continuous fruitful interactions. Each episode is inspired by an article dedicated by Domus to a project or event realised in Iran over the last seventy years, exploring its features and following its subsequent developments.
The monographic supplement dedicated by Domus to “Domus Eyes on Iran”, which will be distributed with the November issue of the magazine in 89 countries (for a total of about 50,000 copies), will include an article on Ponti’s Villa in Tehran, and nine other reportages, including one on Gaetano Pesce’s 1977 futuristic project for the National Library in Tehran.
