studio chahar
The Sandbad Boom, Saving A World Heritage
Qeshm, Iran, Since 2019
Over many centuries, sailors and traders of Qeshm Island have been travelling far to the ports of Africa, India, as well as the Arab realms of the Persian Gulf by means of traditional wooden ocean liners called “Jahaz” in Persian. Jahaz has been mostly used for trading purposes across the seas. Iranians were especially interested in designing and building Boom, a compact typology of boats designed to survive through stormy and windy oceans, carrying expensive goods such as spices and carpets.
Up until recently, marine trading was the main source of income for many of the coast-dwellers across India, Oman, Kenia, Tanzania and Iran. They knew how to navigate through the safest marine routes and used to travel over far distances. However, traditional maritime trading has gone through a decline in the recent centuries due to the development of other forms of trade, and due to the shift of industrial geographies. As a result, the communities living along the shorelines of Persian Gulf have experienced economic hardship. Also, their precious traditional skills in wooden ship building is gradually disappearing.
In November 2011, the “Traditional skills of building and sailing Iranian Lenj boats in the Persian Gulf” was listed under “Urgent Safeguarding List” of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. This traditional knowledge is exposed to a threat of extinction because of wider usage of fiberglass and steel made modern vessels in the recent decades.
Studio chahar is working with the Gouran Rural Cooperative, a company consisting of 90+ households of the Gouran village, to develop a new typology for a Boom ocean liner, as a passenger ship that will be used for sustainable tourism. The “Sandbad Boom”, will host 30 people for cruises and will be managed by locals as a prototype for revitalizing the wooden ocean liners of the Persian Gulf. This project aims to preserve the traditional knowledge and techniques of wooden boat building and help attract and train younger wooden boat builders.
Credits:
Project Architect: Yasaman Esmaili
Client: The Gouron Rural Cooperative
Team Leader: Maziar Qaseminejad
Project Manager/community representative: Ali Pouzan