DEBRIS by DAP Studio examines Tehran’s ongoing cycle of demolition and reconstruction through the material of construction waste. The project was developed as an architectural competition proposal and was not ultimately constructed. Conceived as a pavilion assembled primarily from materials salvaged from demolished buildings, it places debris at the center of both its architectural language and spatial experience.
Tehran’s population density, continuous construction, and rapid demolition and reconstruction have placed pressure on the city’s ecological and infrastructural systems. Buildings are frequently demolished and replaced before the end of their useful life, largely driven by increasing land values. The resulting construction and demolition waste is rarely treated as a resource and is instead displaced toward the margins of the city. In this process, both the material resources and physical memory embedded in existing buildings are lost.
DEBRIS addresses this relationship between renewal and destruction by treating construction waste as an architectural material rather than a by-product to be removed. The project draws conceptually on Georges Bataille’s ideas of excess, transgression, and the base, the rejected, material, and seemingly worthless aspects of reality. Within this framework, debris becomes a physical expression of the elements that urban development typically excludes from its finished image.
the pavilion’s outer skin is made of recycled aluminum | all images ©DAP Studio
Salvaged Materials Form Debris Pavilion
The pavilion by DAP Studio is conceived around a combination of salvaged concrete blocks, construction debris, a demountable steel structure, and recycled aluminum. Broken concrete blocks form the principal interior material, while the steel frame supports an outer envelope made from recycled aluminum sheets. The sheets are welded together into a continuous skin, creating a lightweight protective layer around the structure.
The contrast between the industrial precision of the aluminum exterior and the fragmented character of the concrete interior establishes two distinct material conditions. The smooth outer shell presents a controlled architectural surface, while the salvaged materials inside retain the marks and irregularities associated with demolition. Broken concrete blocks are reused as interior partitions and arranged with their hollow cores facing the visitor. This orientation creates visual continuity through the walls, extending views across the pavilion and producing a spatial condition in which enclosure and openness overlap.
Fragments of construction debris are distributed across the floor, disrupting the conventional experience of a clean, finished architectural surface. Walking through the pavilion becomes a physical encounter with materials normally removed from construction sites, connecting the visitor’s movement to the processes of demolition and reconstruction.
window connecting the interior and exterior of the Debris pavilion
Mirrors Reflect the Material of Demolition
A mirrored interior extends the pavilion’s material and spatial logic. Reflections multiply the concrete fragments, walls, and visitors, creating an environment in which architecture, debris, and bodies overlap. The reflective surfaces make the discarded material increasingly difficult to separate from the architectural space, bringing what is usually excluded from the finished image of a building into direct view. The entrance is recessed within the debris field and incorporates an accessible route for visitors with disabilities. Accessibility is therefore integrated into the pavilion’s spatial organization rather than treated as an external addition to the design.
Through its combination of salvaged concrete, construction debris, a demountable steel frame, recycled aluminum, and reflective surfaces, DEBRIS proposes a pavilion constructed from the remnants of the city itself. Although the competition proposal was not built, its construction system is conceived around reuse and disassembly, allowing demolition waste to become architectural material.
the debris at the pavilion entrance is set back to provide accessible entry for visitors with disabilities
a demountable steel frame supports the pavilion’s outer envelope
the smooth aluminum exterior contrasts with the fragmented concrete interior
construction waste and discarded concrete blocks from buildings are reused within the pavilion’s interior
construction debris divides the interior space of the pavilion into distinct areas
construction debris is scattered across the pavilion floor
DEBRIS turns the remnants of Tehran’s demolition cycle into architectural material
project info:
name: Debris
architect: DAP Studio | @dapstudio
location: Tehran, Iran
designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. See more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: Christina Vergopoulou | designboom
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