Majara Complex

Known for its multicoloured mountains, the island was once an important trading port but had been damaged by conflict, and most visitors left the same day. The Majara complex is part of a bottom-up regeneration plan by the Iranian design team, a series of projects built with the local community that also protect the environment.

The residence offers accommodation for tourists and for art and design residencies, along with facilities for the whole community: a public library, craft and oral history studios, a space for worship, places to eat and a recycling centre. Its 200 domes of varying sizes, shaped after vernacular water storage structures and coloured after the island’s soils, are clustered organically.

A community space under a canopy roof, with flexible modular rooms, helps monitor and manage the presence of visitors to limit their impact. The project received the 2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.