Bamiyan Cultural Center is residence to various transitions of ethnicity and cultures. Today what is left is a narration passed on from the local elders.

Bamiyan Cultural Center is created to re-live the day to day architectural experience of this place. It is a representation of what existed and could have remained today. The art of architecture is used to express the story passed on while taking into consideration the outcome of different perspectives dependent on the audience.

Looking back in history is the first step to develop new ideas and perspectives toward the Bamiyan cliff in the architectural frame. There are two exceptional perspectives from north-east to north-west; the location of the great Buddha statues until a decade ago. This is a representation of the impact of art from different regions of east to west while creating a space movement guideline for the user.

A corridor leading the visitors along to the west witnessing the Buddha statue is formed by the intersection of the selected two axes. This pathway is turned the other way to observe the Buddha statue at the east corner. The corridor is designed as an effort to present what it doesn’t exist anymore.

The cube form was used as the main idea in creating the architectural spaces of the complex. This indication creates a homogenous environment at the site and reduces the construction costs. The cube is rotated towards the west side so it will be in line with the pathway to the Buddha statue far in distance.

The environment is created by putting together the corridor and the cube. Due to the cold climate of the region, a second shell is designed to minimize the heat exchange of the core.

In addition to the mentioned axes, another important axis that was considered in designing was Gholgholeh city. The city is located at the south-east of the project, toward which the auditorium is turned. This direction is conceptually used as a way to saturate the idea by framing the scene into a glass box as an art piece that needs to be preserved.

Bamiyan Cultural Center axis has also been taken as an important direction for the handcraft booth, and an opening in the shell is created to value its importance. Core also shows itself through the opening of the folding crust.

The rusty tanks buried in the site have a conceptual purpose of presenting the recent history of the region and the people who have suffered for years. Being covered in blossoms, the old tanks symbolize the bright future rising ahead. Pedestrians whom the tragic history is hacked in their subconscious, pass through these pieces daily with smile and courage.

In designing the cultural complex, the two sections of cultural and commercial have been designed in prior to the rest of the project. The entrance has also been considered as an in-between open space and creates an opportunity for different choices for the user.

Parallel with the concept of maintaining the historical values of the site, three genres of culture, education, and services are designated as the main functions of the building. The architectural necessity of the complex is set according to each of the functions.

Accordingly, a mass volume is designed on the slope of the ground to create a vast view of the Bamiyan cliff from the North. However, the entrance to the complex is located at the south side due to the accessibility of the pathway. In addition, the building is placed on a slope to allow the potential increase of space for fluid design.

In addition to the determined criteria, congestion and noise pollution are the principles for space layout communication. According to this fact, theater, galleries, and related spaces were stacked on the ground floor. Moreover, the gallery is located at the North side of the building to create the desired view of the Bamiyan cliff for the audience.

Bisotun Pavilion Entrance (also Bisotun, Bistun or Bisutun), is a multi-lingual inscription and large rock relief on a cliff at Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran. It was crucial to the decipherable of cuneiform script.

Authored by Darius the Great sometime between his coronation as king of the Persian Empire in the summer of 522 BC and his death in autumn of 486 BC,

The inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian (a variety of Akkadian).

After the fall of the Persian Empire’s Achievement Dynasty and its successors, and the lapse of Old Persian cuneiform writing into disuse, the nature of the inscription was forgotten, and fanciful explanations became the norm. For centuries, instead of being attributed to Darius I, the Great, it was believed to be from the reign of Khosrau II of Persia — one of the last Sassanid kings, who lived over 1000 years after the time of Darius I.

Bisotun Pavilion Entrance : A legend began around Mount Behistun (Bisotun), as written about by the Persian poet and writer Ferdowsi in his Shahnameh (Book of Kings) c. 1000, about a man named Farhad, who was a lover of King Khosrow’s wife, Shirin. The legend states that exiled for his transgression, Farhad was given the task of cutting away the mountain to find water; if he succeeded, he would be given permission to marry Shirin. After many years and the removal of half the mountain, he did find water but was informed by Khosrow that Shirin had died. He went mad, threw his axe down the hill, kissed the ground and died. It is told in the book of Khosrow and Shirin that his axe was made out of a pomegranate tree, and, where he threw the axe, a pomegranate tree grew with fruit that would cure the ill. Shirin was not dead, according to the story, and mourned upon hearing the news.

The circulation course of the entrance is shaped by the encounter between the pedestrians and drivers of the organization; a fluid surface originated from the ground that responds to the necessary security, control and access of the valuable and historical site. While moving through the surface, the floor and the space frame have shaped a form that not only creates a semi-open space, also prepares a pleasant area for the visitors. Individuals, who are able to move, observe and experience; a unique experience at every corner of the site. The Bistoun Pavilion Entrance is a box with faces extended to the ground in the form of a fluid fold with complete flexibility and simplicity by conserving a valuable inner space. Thus, the purpose of welcoming and presenting visitors to the past during a short period of time in an exhibitory, cultural and publication space. By taking a drawback, the organization itself provides the chance for representation of the historical elements; elements that are the main reasons for the existence of the pavilion entrance.