In November 2025, MARZ Design and Architecture participated in the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Miami, one of the most prominent global platforms for architectural discourse and peer recognition. Three MARZ projects were shortlisted across different categories, reflecting the studio’s engagement with projects spanning retail, education, and temporary architecture.
From these shortlisted entries, MARZ received two distinctions: a Category Winner award in Interiors: Retail and a Highly Commended recognition in Future Projects: Education.
WAF Category Winner
Digikala Flagship Store
Interiors: Retail
The DigiKala Flagship Store was awarded the WAF 2025 Category Winner in Interiors: Retail. The project shifts from conventional product-focused retail to an experience-centered spatial model. Browsing becomes a peripheral activity, while attention is drawn toward a central experiential core, placing atmosphere, movement, and spatial sequencing at the forefront of the retail encounter.
The jury noted that the project “offers a brand-new alternative to conventional stores, taking a different approach from the Apple Store model.”
Highly Commended
Quartet of Learning
Future Projects: Education
Quartet of Learning is an educational complex in Bushehr, composed of four interwoven schools—primary and secondary for girls and boys. Within a context of mandated physical separation, the design subtly softens boundaries through layered courtyards, shared programs, and semi-open learning spaces, allowing connection and interaction to emerge naturally without violating regulations.
The project demonstrates how spatial strategy can extend learning beyond classrooms, fostering collaboration, flexibility, and continuity across age groups while responding sensitively to social and cultural constraints.
Shortlisted Project
Field of Bends Pavilion
Field of Bends Pavilion was shortlisted in the Temporary / Meanwhile category. Developed in collaboration with Arian Saeed Industrial Group, the pavilion investigates the structural and spatial potential of engineered wood through a physically informed, research-driven methodology.
Conceived under strict exhibition constraints, the project advances MARZ’s exploration of temporary architecture, material behavior, and fabrication logic, balancing innovation with expressive spatial design.
Acknowledgements
MARZ extends its sincere thanks to all those who contributed to these projects. Recognition at WAF 2025 would not have been possible without the trust of our clients, the dedication of our design teams, and the expertise of constructors and consultants throughout each project’s realization.
