Jerry Polak Historic House, Mohsen Abbasi Harofteh

Project Name: Jerry Polak Historic House (Cultural Center of Anonymous Martyrs of Hormoz Island) / Function: Cultural Center / Design Office: Mohsen Abbasi Harofteh / Architectural Associates: Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini, Yaser Zovini / Electrical Installation Associate: Mohammad Ali Mujahedian / Mechanical Installation Associate: Mohsen Rezvanfar / Manager: Vajar Technical-Engineering Group / Client: Foundation for the Preservation of the Works and Publication of the Sacred Defense Values of the Country / Land area: 828 m2 / Infrastructure: 355 m2 / Construction start and end date: 1392-1398 / Project photographer: Heshmat narrative
Email: abbasi@yazd.ac.ir
Instagram: mohsen_abbasi_harofteh

The close relationship with the sea and its location in the vicinity of the historic Portuguese fort have given this one-hundred-year-old building a unique position. The special architecture of the building astonishes every viewer in the first place, facing a different structure from Iranian architecture in the Persian Gulf region due to the fusion of western and local style.
Facing a building with such a unique style, the architect’s best decision might be to adhere to its original state and attempt to restore its authenticity and integrity, both in terms of the architectural form of the building and in terms of construction methods and materials. Therefore, the principles of restoration and revitalization of the building are as follows:
• Restoring the lost originality and integrity of the building
• Minimal intervention
• Applying local methods of construction in the restoration process
• Applying local materials in the restoration of the building
• Employing native craftsmen
• Coordination between the new use and the capacity of the building
• Differentiation in design extensions
• Adaptation for new use with respect to the values of the building
Based on the aforementioned principles, the most important protective measures in the project include:
1- Freeing the frontage of buildings from worthless constructions of the recent period
2- Lightening the roofs
3- Strengthening the worn structure of the building
4- Restoration of damaged parts in their original form
5- Renovation and internal furnishing of the building spaces with minimal intervention to be suitable for the new use.
6- Designing a monument over the tombs without disturbing the historic atmosphere but commemorating the two martyrs buried in the place. In this regard, it was attempted to use the role of the knot, as a conceptual element in Islamic architecture, in the flooring of the courtyard. Meanwhile, by taking advantage of the centripetal ability of the knot, attention was also attracted to the center (the burial place of the martyrs). Finally, with minimal elements, a monument was erected to transfer maximum concept.
(In the design of this monument, concepts such as stability and purity were conveyed choosing white color for the monument which also created a distinction between the monument and the historic building, while familiar Islamic forms (knot) were applied, along with having the monument facing the sea as a symbol of infinity. The verse selected on the stone, executed with metal, reminds the purpose of martyrdom and the position of a martyr with its brilliance.)