It was visiting Persepolis and the tomb of Darius the Great in Iran that Sara Shafiei realized the impact that architecture could have. I was always inspired by art but I realized then what a special gift great architecture could bestow.
In her quest for greatness, she, like her fellow Bartlett student and sometime collaborator Ben Cowd, mixes Baroque influences with 21st-century precision via rich textures, patterns and layers: It is experimental; but above all experiential. It is exuberant, exciting yet explicit.
Her final year project, which was rooted in notions of magic and illusion as an inherent part of architectural design, took the form of laser-cut paper models protruding out of a frame. I tried to develop a language that allowed architecture to shine with the aid of new technology, as opposed to being governed by it.
Her efforts did not go unnoticed; she was the recipient of the REID prize for the best final year diploma project, as well as the Sir Banister Fletcher Bronze Medal for the highest marks awarded in a final year examination. Meanwhile, Saraben, her joint exhibition with Cowd has got the architectural community abuzz.
Would most like to work with:
'The choices are endless: Dali, Gaudi, Cedric Price, Borromini, Bernini, Miralles...'
INFORMATION
School
The Bartlett School of Architecture, London
Graduated
2007
