Samenvatting

In the Iranian province Baluchistan local economies can be improved by upturning local produce and handicrafts in a collective effort. A secure place for different generations of women serves as a cultural incubator and marketplace and offers participation in the village life. The project is sited along the main road opposite the village, on a sloping terrain between a mosque and a school complex. The entrance zone is marked by three pavilions which serve as shops and guide visitors along some steps further downwards to a central open space, serving as marketplace, event space and meeting area between the premises of the mosque and the school. Beyond the central open space are two more rows of pavilions, interconnected by wall structures, roofs and stepped courtyards, which provide sheltered workspaces and study rooms, ending in a garden and a play area for children at one of the sides. The design makes great use of the sloping site, effectively creating loose barriers where desired for protected areas for the women. The pavilions have hyperbolic roofs and screen walls, constructed with local clay and palmwood, securing an affordable and DIY execution