AA Liminal pavilion

Описание: Tehran is a city suspended between identity and non-identity, between memory and forgetting—a city in constant transformation, where its inhabitants experience living each day in a transitional and unstable condition.
Liminality refers to a threshold state: a mode of being situated between two situations or two places, where boundaries become blurred and the possibility of change and the redefinition of identity emerges.
The “Liminality Pavilion” seeks to translate this unstable condition into a spatially experiential form. Its unbalanced geometry and concrete structure reflect this very instability. In this space, boundaries are not fixed; rather, they take shape as moments of passage and suspension. The pavilion’s narrow path draws the body into a deliberate constriction—an experience that simultaneously evokes a sense of pressure and the possibility of release. This sensation intensifies while ascending the ramp, accompanied by the smell of burnt oil, creating a multisensory experience.
At the end of the path, the space suddenly opens and reflections emerge; a moment in which the boundary no longer functions as an endpoint, but becomes a threshold for pause, silence, and reconsideration of the self and the city. In the final section, light plays the central role: a spherical source embedded within the burnt oil, its light sliding upward along the walls. The path leading to this point remains in darkness, allowing the eyes to gradually adapt so that the final illumination is experienced as a sudden, revelatory moment.
As the pavilion was designed for use during a five-day event, the design approach was experience-driven from the outset. This approach was not limited to the stages of design and construction, but extended into the period of use as well. On the first day of the event, a brief power outage caused the balloon—formed by the force of wind—to unintentionally sink into the burnt oil. As a result, accidental patterns appeared on its surface, resembling a city map, streets, and layers of everyday life. This incident demonstrated that the pavilion’s experiential focus is not confined to its design and construction alone, but can, over time, lead the project toward new and unforeseen meanings.