Kamran Diba (born 5 March 1937) is a prominent Iranian architect, residing in Paris, France. He is famous for designing the new campus of Jondishapur University in Ahvaz, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Niavaran Cultural Center in Tehran.He was a visiting scholar at Cornell University.He is a cousin of Farah Diba, former empress of Iran. Kamran Diba was also an artist, although the number of works he did seems to be small. He attended Howard University in Washington, DC and did art for the renowned "Blackie" Auger, who was famous for his chain of restaurants and real estate fortune.
Kamran Diba, a native Iranian architect & planner, left Iran and his large practice called “DAZ Architects, Planners and Engineers” in 1978, a year before revolution. Since then he has worked in London and Washington D.C. and presently he works in Paris, and Costa del Sol, Spain. Diba is an Aga Khan Award winner. His work Shushtar New Town has been exhibited at the Venice bienal and in the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art’s travelling exhibition “AT THE END OF THE CENTURY”. He has served on international architectural juries and has lectured widely.
As architect planner and cultural promoter Kamran Diba has created many innovative institutions in Iran, namely a museum and several cultural centers. As the architect and later funding director of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art he amassed a sizeable collection of modern and contemporary art for that institution. His architectural work has a touch of vernacular. Although a modernist, he believes strongly in cultural context and continuity. Diba's work is focused on social interaftion and individual psychological experience of the built environment. He is the author of numerous projects; some of them are introduced on the following pages. Presently he is a member of Colegio de Arquitectos of Spain and has a local practice in southern Spain. He divides his time between Spain and Paris. Diba is also a painter and has had several one person exhibitions
Articles on Kamran Diba’s architecture:
1. Architectural Review, Vol. CLXII, No. 965, July 1977.
2. Progressive Architecture, January 1978.
3. Domus, No. 579, February 1978.
4. Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, February 1978, Vol. 195, Cover photograph.
5. Progressive Architecture, May 1978.
6. Decorative Art & Modern Interiors, 1979, Studio Vista, Cassell Ltd. Publishers.
7. Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, October 1979, Vol. 205.
8. Progressive Architecture, October 1979.
9. Kamran Diba – Buildings and Projects, 1981, Verlag Gerd Hatje.
10. Domus, No. 614, February 1981.
11. La Modernité – Un Projet Inachevé, 40 Architectes, Editions du Moniteur, Paris, 1982, Exhibition - Festival d’Automne, Paris – Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.
12. Architettura nei Paesi Islamici, Edizioni La Biennial di Venezia, 1982, Exhibition - Venice Biennial – Shushtar New Town.
13. Lotus International, No. 36, 1982.
14. TA – Techniques et Architecture, No. 345, Decembre-Janvier 1983.
15. MIMAR, Architecture in Development, No. 8, April – June 1983.
16. MIMAR, Architecture in Development, No. 17, July-September 1985.
17. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture 1986, Winner of award for architecture – Shushtar New Town.
18. MIMARLIK 86/1 YIL:24 SAYI:220, page 32 Sustar Yeni Kenti (Turkish periodical).
19. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Vol. 3, No 3, March/April 1987, Shushtar New Town, Iran (Indian periodical).
20. Space for Freedom – The Search for Architectural Excellence in Muslim Societies, Ismail Serageldin, Pub. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture & Butterworth Architecture, 1989, pages 156-165.
21. The Architecture of Housing, Pub. Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 1980, cover photograph.
22. The Mosque – History, Architectural Development & Regional Diversity, edited by Martin Frishman & Hassan-Uddin Khan, 1994, Thames & Hudson, London.
23. A History of Architecture, Sir Banister Fletcher, Twentieth Edition (Centenary Edition), Edited by Dan Cruickshank, Architectural Press, London, 1996.
24. Metamorfosi, No. 29-30, Rome, Italy, 1996, Mehdi Kowsar, Tradizioni e cultura degli spazi pubblici: immagini della Persia, pages 35-37.
25. Sustainable Landscape Design in Arid Climates. Proceedings of a Symposium held at Dumbarton Oaks , Washington, D.C. on 7 December 1996, The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, pages 35-37.
26. The Contemporary Mosque, Architects, Clients and Design since the 1950’s by Renata Holod and Hasan-Uddin Khan, 1997, Rizzoli, N.Y. (The Mosque and the Modern World, Thames & Hudson, London).
27. At The End of the Century – One Hundred Years of Architecture, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, 1998, Harry Abrams, N.Y., Exibition: Plan and model of Shushtar New Town was exhibited in a travelling exhibition organized by Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Cologne and Chicago Art Institute in 1999-2000.
28. Dictionnaire de l’Architecture de XXeme Siècle, Hazan, Institut Français d’Architecture, p. 243.
29. Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Center – Iranian Architecture and Environmental Design – The Search for New Representatives, edited by Attilio Petruccioli, Rome, July 1999.
30. Keith Haring – Made in France, Fondation Dina Vierny-Musée Maillol, Paris, 1999, essay by Kamran Diba on Keith Haring, p. 39-40.
31. Le Figaro, Paris, 23 February 2004, “Une Passion en Exil”, a portrait on Kamran Diba by Vianney Aubert.
32. Gärten des Orients, ifa-Galerie, Stuttgart, 2004, Exhibition – Garden of Niavaran.
33. International Conference on New Towns, 2-6 may 2005 Tehran- Iran, Shushtar …New Town Architect and planner Kamran Diba, Presented by Fariar Javaherian, p. 15.
Articles appearing in Iranian architecture publications:
1. MEMAR, Summer 1377, Shushtar New Town at the International Exhibition, p. 87.
2. MEMAR, No. 10, Autumn 1379, pages 8-27, page 8 “Kamran Diba Revisited” by Soheila Besky; page 20 “Yadegar Ashna – Familiar Memories of Kamran Diba” by K. Afshar-Naderi; page 26 “How I Remember Kamran Diba”, by Atollah Omidvar.
3. MEMAR, No, 11, P. 57, Winter 1379, Meeting at the Café – KD’s interview with Mohammed Reza Moqtader.
4. MEMAR, No. 12, Spring 1380, Kamran Diba and Modern Andalucia – two new works by Kamran Diba in Spain, p. 18-25.
5. MEMAR, No. 13, Summer 1380, A Letter from Darab Diba.
6. MEMAR, No. 15, Winter 1380, Abdolaziz Farmafarmaian by Kamran Diba.
7. MEMAR, No. 16, Spring 1381, History by Nader Ardalan – comments by Kamran Diba.
8. MEMAR, No. 19, Winter 1381, P. 20, How Did The Most Significant Event in the History of Iran Contemporary Architecture Take Place ?
9. MEMAR, No. 20, Spring 1382, P. 93, Reminiscence of the Past.
10. MEMAR, No. 21, Summer 1382, P. 12, Culture and Morality in Architecture.
11. MEMAR, No. 23, Winter 1382,(2003) p. 3, Editorial by Kamran Diba – Bam’s Earthquake.
12. MEMAR, No. 27, fall 1383,(2004) p. 90 ATI CENTER competition.
13. IRAN NEWS PAPER Mehregan 19 bahman, 1383, (2004) “About Kamran Diba” by Mohamad Shamkhani.
14. C.D. Rom PRODUCTION OF AN INTERVIEW with Diba on SHUSHTAR NEW TOWN, 2005 BY FARIAR JAVAHERIAN & FARHAD DARYOUSH, Introduction by Suha Oskan.
15. MEMAR, No. 31, Summer 1384 (Jul. 2005) p.14 partial text of a paper delivered at The occasion of AGA KAN seminar Jakarta 1979 (1358) Translated by Abas Mokhber.
16. Payam E Sabze vol. 5 no.43 Aug, 2005 (Iranian periodical).
17. Architecture & landscaping of Kamran Diba p. 8.
18. Diba has also written on social and cultural matters, which are not included in this list.
Projects in Iran
- Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
- Praying room
- Shafagh Park
- Mahmoud Abad summer resort
- Cultural Center Garden of Niavaran
- Shushtar New town
- Parviz Tanavoli's House
Projects in abroad
- Villa Costa Del sol
- Villa Espartina
- Simon's Villa
- Monticello
Website: www.kamrandiba.com