Longtime friends and business partners thrive as architecture grad students

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Setareh Farashzadeh and Yasaman Ghaffarian came to Penn State as close friends and established architects in pursuit of the history and theory behind their chosen field. Originally from Iran, the duo started their own practice after earning their bachelor’s degrees and jointly decided to expand their understanding of the built environment. Their interests and underlying friendship led them to the dual master of architecture and master of science in architecture program in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School.

The history

Farashzadeh and Ghaffarian first met as classmates in middle school and became close friends as high school students who would discuss books they were reading together, studying philosophy, classic literature and poetry. They even started a small book club in their school to further their knowledge.

Later they both decided to pursue architecture — Farashzadeh at Soore University in Tehran, Iran, and Ghaffarian at Azad University in Quazin, Iran — which, according to Ghaffarian, connected the way the pair think, study and work.

“Although we studied at different universities for our undergraduate degrees, having different educational experiences and different ways of thinking actually helped us,” Farashzadeh explained. “We realized that our perspectives could make each other stronger, rather than developing only one shared point of view.”

It was this mindset that led the pair to start their own architectural design practice in Iran after earning their degrees. They worked on design projects at different scales, including some international projects, and eventually moved to Istanbul, Turkey, for a few renovation projects.

“We decided to stay there for a while because it gave us better access to international work and helped us expand our practice,” Farashzadeh said.

After several years of practice, Farashzadeh and Ghaffarian wanted to add more depth to their work and learn more from an international perspective.

“We wanted to understand architecture not only as design and construction, but also through research, history, housing and social impact,” Ghaffarian said.

Farashzadeh said it was important to her to continue to develop professionally through the master of architecture program while also building a stronger research direction through the master of science degree.

“It gave me the chance to think about architecture both as a designer and as a researcher, and to understand how those two parts can support each other,” she said.

The research

Farashzadeh’s research focuses on the Weissenhof Siedlung duplex in Stuttgart, Germany, and the way people lived in and adapted modern housing over time.

“In simple terms, I am interested in what happens after a building is designed: how residents actually use the space, what they change and how daily life can be different from the architect's original idea,” she said.

By studying how people occupy, change and adapt housing, architects can better understand what makes a home flexible, comfortable and lasting, she said. This is particularly useful when it comes to ;current conversations surrounding housing, including affordability, density, sustainability and long-term use.

“If we understand how people actually live, we can design homes that are more responsive to different families and different needs that change over time,” she said.

Ghaffarian chose to focus her graduate studies on Tower House, a very small house built in Tokyo, Japan, on a tiny urban site that became livable and “meaningful even with such a small footprint,” Ghaffarian said. She examines how ideas from traditional Japanese houses, such as flexibility, efficient use of space, light, circulation and the relationship between rooms, were carried out in a modern house.

“My research shows that small housing does not have to mean poor quality housing,” Ghaffarian said. “With careful design, a small footprint can still become a livable home, aligned with a society's social and cultural norms and expectations.”

This, according to Ghaffarian, can be useful for architects, designers and housing researchers who are thinking about compact living, urban infill, flexible housing and how to make better use of limited space without losing the human quality of a home.

Both Farashzadeh and Ghaffarian were recognized for their work with the College of Arts and Architecture’s Creative Achievement Medal this spring and both participated in the Fox Graduate School’s Three-Minute Thesis Competition in which Ghaffarian was a finalist. Meanwhile, Farashzadeh’s work was honored with the People’s Choice Award at the Cocoziello Institute’s inaugural Built Environment Showcase.

In addition, Ghaffarian was named a recipient of the Fox Graduate School’s Professional Master’s Excellence Award, and Farashzadeh received the Department of Architecture’s Design Excellence Award.

The friendship

Both Farashzadeh and Ghaffarian said that their friendship evolved and grew deeper in different ways while at Penn State.

“Studying in the same program strengthened our friendship because we were sharing a major life experience again, but in a new context,” Farashzadeh said. “At Penn State, we were encouraged to collaborate, but also to develop our individual voices and research interests. That balance was very important for both of us.”

She continued by saying the Stuckeman School is a supportive environment; it helped their relationship mature and allowed her to understand that “we can work well individually and also become stronger when we work together.”

Ghaffarian said the Stuckeman School taught them a lot about collaboration with classmates, faculty, centers and communities. It also, she said, helped them understand how individual work and teamwork can support each other.

“Graduate school can be intense, especially when you are far from home, and it helped to have someone who already knew my background and understood the way I think,” Ghaffarian said. “It is a privilege to have a best friend by your side on tough days and in career and study challenges.”

The future

Both Farashzadeh and Ghaffarian earned their master of architecture degrees in the spring and will graduate with their master of science degrees in August. Both have also decided to pursue their doctoral studies in architecture at Penn State and plan to continue their professional practice together.

“I hope to use both our professional experience and what we have learned at Penn State to work on meaningful housing and design projects,” Farashzadeh said.

Ghaffairan echoed her friend’s sentiments on their futures in academia and professional practice.

“My passion for designing and building as an architect remains the same, but now I also want to teach, write and conduct research,” she said. “I hope to work as both a researcher and an architect and to continue building our architectural practice together, drawing on what we have learned from our studies and professional experience.”