1- Please introduce yourself and the company ‘Tahrir and Construction Silk Road’ for our readers, and explain how this company was founded and the goals it pursues.
I am Navid Ganji, both an architect and a project manager, and perhaps an entrepreneur. My academic background includes a master’s in project management and construction, a doctorate in architecture, and social entrepreneurship. For years, I’ve been involved in various architectural and urban projects, both public and private. My company, Tahrir and Construction Silk Road, serves as the central hub for my professional activities, while the Strategic Studies Institute of Architecture has been the core of my research and advocacy work for the past decade. The main objective of all my ventures is to create a complete value chain for architecture, from the initial feasibility phase to post-occupancy (maintenance). In each of these domains, the best professionals in the country collaborate within my organizations.
2- Your company emphasizes integrating architectural design processes with project management. Could you explain how this approach improves project quality and reduces costs and completion time?
Absolutely. Based on my past experiences, I believe that architecture and construction must be integrated within a comprehensive project management framework. In my office, we call this Design Management. Integrating design management within an architecture office increases the quality of both architecture and execution, reduces overhead costs, and optimizes timelines. Various tools are necessary to implement this process, including team agility, integrated software solutions, “soft” tools for advancing social and cultural goals, and, of course, the final branding of the project. At Tahrir and Construction Silk Road, we’ve strived to apply all these tools to our projects.
3- You mentioned the combination of Iranian cultural authenticity with global quality standards in your designs. How do you maintain this balance in your projects, and what challenges exist in this process?
The preservation and creation of cultural authenticity in a project is far more important than just cultural development. Today, Iranian society no longer sees a marketable building as just a slab of expensive stone or solely driven by creativity in modern design. To create a branded building, several elements must be considered: First, the establishment of an independent identity rooted in the culture of the users; second, creativity in developing this identity in modern society; and third, standardizing spaces in accordance with current needs. This type of building does not require marketing; the architecture itself creates a market for it. I believe that, given the severe economic stagnation today, building design must prioritize these elements so that people will appreciate it and be willing to pay for it.
4- The “Architecture for All” project seems to aim at providing high-quality architectural services for people with limited budgets. What strategies and technologies do you use to reduce costs without compromising quality in these projects?
I’m delighted to talk about the Architecture for All project. This initiative began two years ago in my institute and has been developed further in my architectural firm. I was seeking a way to make architecture accessible to the general public, not just to higher-income groups. So, Architecture for All was created to offer quality architecture while reducing costs, both in terms of services and execution. We have provided numerous services, both in the form of free consultations and affordable services for people. It’s important to note that this platform is not meant to create negative competition by lowering prices against colleagues; rather, we use methods that allow us to offer architecture at a lower cost. Meanwhile, Silk Road Construction operates with a different approach that distinguishes it from Architecture for All.
5- Considering past successes, what is the future vision of ‘Tahrir and Construction Silk Road’? Do you have plans to expand activities into new fields or enter international markets?
For many years, Tahrir and Construction Silk Road has been engaged in architectural and interior design projects across the country, ranging from small villas to hotel towers of varying scales, from northern Tehran to the southern regions, from Mazandaran (Western area) to Bandar Abbas. In many of these cities, the office’s unique approaches were tested, exploring architecture in diverse microcultures and climates. Today, we are working to enter new international markets and have already completed projects in Oman and the UAE. Our mid-term vision focuses on expanding into CIS countries and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and we have already started our marketing efforts for entering these markets. However, we are open to any collaboration proposals in these regions.
