Kandovan VR-Project

I had the chance to exhibit a project together with Aso Hajirasoulik using VR-Technology at QUT Design Week 2019.There are only two examples of cone-shaped architecture and settlement in the world consisting of Goreme in the Cappadocia region of Turkey, and Kandovan village in Iran. Goreme valley has been acknowledged for its unique architecture and has gained recognition from the UNESCO in 1985. However, Kandovan remains undiscovered and neglected by scholars and researchers. Kandovan is unique, as it is the last inhabited cone-shaped settlement in the world. Despite the similarities inherent in the architectural qualities of Goreme and Kandovan, these settlements are starkly contrasted. The community social and cultural life of Kandovan have survived for nearly eight centuries, whereas Goreme has ceased being a community and today functions as a tourist attraction. This highlights Kandovan as the last surviving example of a cone-shaped settlement, which retains its social and cultural vitality to date.

Kandovan has been continuously occupied inhabited for nearly 900 years. However, being the only remaining inhabited cone-shaped settlement in the world, Kandovan has recently become a significant tourist destination. The resultant mass-tourism has profoundly changed Kandovan’s heritage architectural and social fabrics; so much so that today both a rapidly disappearing and being replaced with generic, globalised examples. Therefore, this project uses Virtual Reality technology to create a digital model of this rare cone-shaped settlement and document it virtually, before further changes and deteriorations occur. Furthermore, it acknowledges and celebrates the uniqueness of forgotten ancient settlements by exhibiting them to a wider audience through digital media.