Koohsangi Cultural, Recreational, Sports & Tourism Campus | Mashhad | 1993

This leisure and tourism complex was designed on approximately 100 hectares of urban land. Before the design process began, nearly 80% of the land had been occupied by two government agencies, a scrap storage site, a concrete production and sales plant, unauthorized housing, stone workshops, and a plastic pipe factory—located dangerously close to Mashhad’s drinking water source between two mountains. The land recovery process took over 15 years, and as each section was reclaimed, its development was designed and implemented in coordination with the overall concept. For this reason, the full design and implementation process took nearly 20 years. In the final years, some parts of the site were allocated to the Museum of Sacred Defense without regard for the approved plan, and another part was re-appropriated by the Water Authority. Within the project area, there exists a 90-year-old club and swimming pool as well as a historic tomb. It is said that Shah Abbas's coronation was held at the foot of this mountain. The campus was designed based on all urban, environmental, and natural opportunities and limitations as seven interconnected gardens, named as follows: 1) Reception, 2) Cultural, 3) Stonework, 4) Natural, 5) Recreational, 6) Sports and 7) Memorial.
A wide range of buildings have been constructed within it—hospitality, educational, religious, ceremonial, commercial and healthcare facilities.