59 Under: Rethinking Urban Architecture in Tehran

Tehran, a bustling metropolis with its high-rises and ongoing battle with air pollution, struggles to embrace new urban elements within its dense fabric. Despite this limitation, the city thrives culturally—hosting countless artistic and social activities. However, many spaces once vital to the city, such as Qanats (ancient underground water channels), now lie abandoned or underutilized. The project 59 Under, designed by Sara Mahabadi, Ali Nazari, Zahra Rastegarzadeh, and Hamid Attaran, seeks to reclaim these forgotten layers of the city and reimagine them through sustainable urban architecture.

Urban Architecture Challenges in Tehran

Tehran’s rapid urbanization has produced towering buildings but left behind pockets of deserted and wasted land. While vertical growth dominates the skyline, the underground remains an untapped resource. Historically, Qanats played an essential role in sustaining life, channeling water from aquifers to the city. Today, these spaces are relics of the past, but they still hold architectural potential. The challenge lies in reprogramming these voids into adaptive urban spaces.

The Architectural Concept

The idea behind 59 Under is simple yet powerful: move the city’s cultural and artistic activities underground, revitalizing Qanats and similar underused spaces. Instead of forcing new developments into already crowded streets, the project focuses on creating underground cultural architecture—spaces that breathe new life into neglected parts of the city.

A single door at ground level introduces this hidden world. This minimal architectural gesture acts as both furniture and portal, encouraging people to step into an entirely new spatial experience below the city.

The Design Approach

• Mobius Strip Inspiration: The design borrows from the Mobius strip, a continuous surface that blurs the boundaries between wall, floor, and ceiling. This geometry is used to shape ramps, partitions, and circulation paths underground.
• Layered Ramps: Cultural activities are distributed across spiral ramps, creating a flowing journey where spaces gradually reveal themselves.
• Integration with City Life: While minimal change occurs at the surface, the underground spaces actively host art exhibitions, performances, and community events.

Cultural Architecture as a Sustainable Solution

By revitalizing the underground, 59 Under offers solutions to multiple urban issues:

• Reducing Surface Congestion: Moving cultural programs below ground opens up above-ground space.
• Preserving Heritage: The project acknowledges Tehran’s historic Qanats, transforming them into functional cultural venues.
• Sustainability: Underground spaces naturally regulate temperature, reducing energy consumption for climate control.

The Social Impact

The core aim is to engage people through architecture. Instead of abandoned voids, residents and visitors encounter immersive cultural hubs. The project redefines what it means to participate in urban life, not by expanding outward, but by looking inward—into the layers beneath the city.

59 Under is more than an architectural proposal; it is a statement about rethinking urban potential. In cities like Tehran, where space is scarce and pollution rampant, underground cultural architecture provides a bold alternative. By merging heritage with innovation, the project transforms forgotten infrastructure into platforms for collective memory, creativity, and human connection.