Known as the 'rainbow island' for its multicoloured mountains, Hormuz was historically an important trading port, but had been conflict-damaged. Tourists were mostly day-trippers; only backpackers would stay overnight.
The Majara Complex and Community Redevelopment project is a bottom-up regeneration plan involving a series of architectural projects that engage the local community and preserve the environment. Among them is the Rong Cultural Centre, a café and bicycle rental centre in two steel-reinforced super-adobe domes with connecting stairs that provide a vibrant public space. The Majara Residence offers comfortable tourist and art/design residency accommodation plus all-community facilities including a public library, craft and oral history studios, worship space, eateries, and recycling centre. Inspired by the soil’s colours and particle sizes, its 200 varying-sized domes – echoing vernacular water-storage structure forms – are clustered organically. The Typeless (badban) Community Space, for monitoring and managing visitors’ presence to avoid negative impacts, contains flexible modular spaces under a canopy roof.
