Story
Khorasan Café is a project whose design is based on the geographical, historical and the cultural characteristics of the building. The café is situated in one of the best-known historical areas of Mashhad which is an officially registered heritage asset. Given its significance, the restoration of the building was one of the first steps taken in the project, caried out by the architecture team.
In the design of the lights, the textures and colors are taken from the ancient houses of Khorasan made of cob. Fortunately, being a fully biodegradable material, cob does not involve chemicals of any kind, minimizing environmental harm. The lights are made of papier-mâché, which has properties similar to cob, and is known to be environmentally friendly due to its biodegradability.
The lighting project of Khorasan has achieved and honorary mention at the Kioskedia International Awards in the lighting design category in 2023. Ali Oraie and Bita Amel, serving as the lighting designers for the project, are members of the Virtual Lighting Design Community (VLDC).
In the design process, we looked at the rich culture of Khorasan and found “Choob Bazi”—the traditional dance of the people of Khorasan, literally meaning “the wood play”. The rhythm of the wooden sticks and the movements of the dancers are the fundamental principles of the visual identity and the lighting design in Khorasan. Choob Bazi is a rather demanding group dance. Each dancer has one wooden stick in each hand, takes two steps back, hits the sticks against one another followed by a quick, precise rotating jump, infusing the dance with excitement and movement. The cross the sticks form when struck is incorporated as a symbol, creating the visual identity; the free, flowing movement of the dancer’s skirt during the jump inspired the design of the lights.
Team
Client: Khorasan Cafe
Design Direction: Ali Oraei
Graphic Design and Motion: Ali Oraei . Bita Amel
Lighting Design: Ali Oraei . Bita Amel
Production Assistant: Ali Saravani . Golbarg Zoheiri
Photography: Rasa Ghavamshahidi
2023