Dariush Borbor
Dariush Borbor (, born April 28, 1934), is an Iranian-French architect, urban planner, designer, sculptor, painter, researcher, and writer. In 1963, Borbor established his own firm under the name of Borbor Consulting Architects, Engineers, City Planners. In 1976, he set up Sphere Iran, a consortium of four specialist consulting firms, and proposed a comprehensive National Environmental Master plan for Iran. In 1992, he created the Research Institute and Library of Iranian Studies (RILIS) where he is the director. Borbor is widely regarded as one of the avant-garde architects of the modern movement in Iran; a pioneer of  modern urban planning, named by some as "father of modern urban planning", and a key figure in the promotion and creation of the High Urban Planning Council (1966, ). He was described by Swiss architectural critic as "one of the most innovative architects who is perhaps on the way of creating a Persian architectural style of the 20th century"; and French architectural critic defined him as "the architect in search of a modern Iranian architectural style". He has won many competitions and received several international prizes and awards, including the Gold Mercury International from Italy, 50 Outstanding Architects of the World  from the Second Belgrade Triennial of World Architecture, and the Pahlavi Royal Award. Early life. Dariush Borbor was born in April 1934. His father was Gholam Hossein khan Borbor (), one of the directors of the Iranian branch of the former Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), congressman, ambassador-at-large, and one of the founding members of the Grand Lodge of Iran. Borbor had his primary schooling in Iran. At the age of thirteen, he moved to the United Kingdom for his secondary education, after which he obtained his General Certificate of Education from University of Cambridge (1952), a Bachelor of  Architecture (1958) and a Master of Civic Design (1959) both from the University of Liverpool. He then went to specialize in the architecture of hot dry regions at the University of Geneva (1961) under the direction of the French architect and urban planner . Career. While working for his PhD, he collaborated concurrently with the Swiss urban planner Professor and the architects Robert Frei and Christian Hunziker on several projects, including the first automatic bowling alleys in Meyrin Commune, Geneva, and Beirut, Lebanon. In 1961, he returned to Tehran as Deputy Technical Director of Iran-Rah, the largest Construction Co. of  its time in Iran. In 1963, he created his own firm under the name of Borbor Consulting Architects, Engineers, City Planners. As President and managing director, he developed and expanded the business to a large multidisciplinary organization with several in-house departments which included: architecture, urban planning, environment, structure, mechanics, electricity and interior design. The firm employed a large number of highly qualified multi-national staff and included branch offices in several major cities in Iran. A few months prior to the 1978 Iranian Islamic Revolution, Borbor moved to Paris, France where he founded the Borbor International Management Consultants (BIMC ) to Architects, Engineers, Planners. BIMC offered consultancy services in design, management and documentation to architectural and planning firms. In 1984, he moved to Los Angeles where he was involved in some architectural consultancy and research on Iranian and Persianate subjects. Borbor returned to Iran in 1991 and established the Research Institute and Library of Iranian Studies (RILIS), a non-profit, non-political, private and independent institution dedicated to the promotion of research in the field of Iranian and Persianate studies with special emphasis on novel and creative research