The project definition began with the design of a therapeutic complex centered around an infertility clinic, anticipating a high per capita number of visitors. The project site is another piece in the puzzle of the gray density of urban centers in Iran, presenting a recurring scenario of public structures that become filled and emptied with indifference to the urban space. The sama complex is located at the corner of one of the busy intersections in Shiraz (Moalem Square) and features a building boundary that rotates 45 degrees relative to the main thoroughfare. This orientation, along with the distance from the edge of the pathway, creates a unique opportunity to enhance the connection with the pedestrian city.

Shiraz, as a medical hub, has historically been the main destination for medical visitors from the southern regions of the country, with a concentration of medical facilities developing more in the central fabric of Shiraz in past decades. A look at the urban fabric of Shiraz reveals two periods of development for private healthcare densities. The first period consists of rows of low-rise, single-function structures organized along major thoroughfares. The second period, which spans the last two to three decades, has seen the emergence of mid-rise densities featuring independent or similar functions across multiple floors.

In recent years, due to saturation and structural deterioration in the central fabric, investment in healthcare has shifted towards the northwest of Shiraz, primarily following the typology of the second period. sama complex is located in an area with a significant distance from other medical facilities, thus the client’s goal was to meet all therapeutic requirements within the project. The complex program includes an infertility clinic as the main core, along with several private offices and three commercial units.

Given the necessity for independent access to the infertility clinic and other functional requirements, the main design challenge in this project was to transform the general diagram of class separation into an intertwined and sectional structure centered around a well-defined atrium, supported by a network of horizontal and vertical corridors.

Another issue of the project was how to extend the network of internal corridors and public spaces to the project’s boundaries in a model characterized by duality in spatial division, especially when the open space of the project is essentially an urban square. The project aimed to connect to the city through a form of spatial outpouring, both in form and color. It sought to achieve this by stitching the internal corridors to the edges of the building, pushing the public spaces of the floors towards the back facade, and utilizing its boundary angle to create a deep and fragmented experience relative to the line of sight of the subject, both inside and outside.

The use of a double-skin facade not only moderates the southwestern sunlight but also increases the depth at the project’s boundary. By rotating and extending the internal walls to the threshold of the second skin, substantial cuts from the project’s volume are reduced, creating spatial intermediaries between the inside and outside that strive to establish a dual belonging to both the project and the city.