Marz Design | Architecture

What Marz Design | Architecture does

Marz Design | Architecture (MARZ) is a transdisciplinary design studio founded by Hooman Talebi, headquartered in Tehran, Iran with a secondary office in London, UK. The firm operates across architecture, interior design, product design, branding, and masterplanning, serving enterprise and institutional clients in retail, industrial, educational, cultural, hospitality, and infrastructure sectors. Notable clients include Digikala (flagship retail), Arian Saeed Industrial Group (long-term partnership spanning seven exhibition pavilions over a decade), Pishgaman Fardaye Sabz Deylam, Shahid Avini Institute (FilmCity), Sheikh Salim, and Astan Ghods Razavi (museum). The firm earned the 2025 World Architecture Festival Category Winner award in Interiors: Retail for the Digikala flagship store, with additional Highly Commended and Shortlisted entries in Education and Temporary categories.

The studio's underlying technology is described as a "physically informed digital methodology" combining parametric modeling, advanced simulations, and computational workflows to generate form and analyze performance. There is no disclosed AI/ML capability; the digital toolset is consistent with parametric and performance-based design rather than generative AI. The business model is project-based professional services: fees are structured around individual commissions, likely as percentage-of-construction-cost or fixed professional fees, acquired through direct enterprise relationships and competition entries. Geographic reach extends across Iran, Oman, the UK, and Lebanon. The firm is privately held, founder-owned, bootstrapped with no external funding, and operates with approximately six employees — a lean structure that concentrates senior design talent and limits scalability without growth capital.

Go-to-market relies on reputation, award recognition, and long-tenured client relationships rather than outbound sales or marketing spend. International competition entries (e.g., National Highways UK) serve as both pipeline development and brand-building exercises. The transdisciplinary delivery model allows the firm to capture larger wallet share per client engagement compared to single-discipline competitors.

Name

Marz Design | Architecture

Legal name

MARZ design and architecture

Website

https://marz-design.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Marz Design | Architecture is a transdisciplinary design studio founded by Hooman Talebi, operating from Tehran and London across architecture, interiors, product, branding, and masterplanning for enterprise and institutional clients in Iran, the MENA region, and the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Architecture Design Services: Full-service architectural design for residential, commercial, mixed-use, educational, and public buildings. Projects range from concept through construction, including master planning services.
2. Interior and Exhibition Design: Interior architecture and exhibition space design services, including immersive retail environments, fitness facilities, and trade show pavilions.
3. Product and Furniture Design: Custom product design and furniture collections, including the BioYou Academy furniture collection with five custom-designed pieces.
4. Branding and Visual Identity: Brand identity design services integrating visual identity with spatial design for cohesive brand experiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

MARZ is a transdisciplinary design studio offering five integrated service areas: Architecture (commercial, residential, mixed-use, educational, and public buildings), Interior/Exhibition Design (immersive retail and exhibition spaces), Product Design (custom furniture and bespoke products), Branding (visual identity systems integrated with spatial design), and Masterplan (large-scale urban planning). The studio operates with offices in Tehran, Iran and London, UK, and serves clients primarily across the Middle East and selected international markets.

Product overview

Marz Design and Architecture is a transdisciplinary architecture and design studio operating at the intersection of Architecture, Masterplan, Interior architecture, Product design, and Graphic/digital design. The firm offers five core service areas: Architecture (commercial, residential, mixed-use buildings), Interior/Exhibition Design (immersive retail and exhibition spaces), Product Design (custom furniture and products), Branding (visual identity systems), and Masterplan (large-scale urban planning). Featured projects include the WAF 2025-winning Digikala Flagship Store (retail interior), the BioYou Academy furniture collection, the ongoing Arian Saeed WoodEx pavilion series exploring engineered wood, and the Quartet of Learning educational complex. The studio serves clients primarily in Iran with projects extending to Oman and Lebanon.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Design Services Full-scale architectural design services spanning commercial, residential, mixed-use, educational, and public buildings across Iran and international locations.
• Interior/Exhibition Design Interior and exhibition space design creating immersive, engaging environments that tell compelling stories and create meaningful visitor experiences for retail, fitness, and trade show contexts.
• Product Design Custom furniture and product design shaping cohesive, future-driven design concepts, including bespoke pieces for specific projects such as the BioYou Academy furniture collection.
• Branding Brand identity design services turning vision into bold, lasting brand identities where space becomes an integral part of the brand experience.
• Masterplan Large-scale masterplanning services that weave every element into a unified vision of clarity, harmony, and meaningful impact.

Quantifiable outcome

• WAF 2025 Category Winner in Interiors: Retail for Digikala Flagship Store, with jury noting project offers 'a brand-new alternative to conventional stores, taking a different approach from the Apple Store model'
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and notable.

• ARSH4DflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Collaborative partnership on Quartet of Learning project - a four-school educational complex in Bushehr, Iran. Joint architectural leadership with MARZ for this award-recognized project.
• Arian Saeed Industrial GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Ongoing strategic partnership since 2015 focused on engineered wood innovation and spatial experimentation. Partnership has produced seven experimental pavilion projects (WoodEx 2015-2025) showcasing material behavior and fabrication logic. Extended to include major mixed-use development (Saeed International Commerce Center) and brand identity work.
• BAD (Beirut Architecture and Design)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration on N'5 Mixed Use project in Beirut, Lebanon. MARZ worked with BAD in collaboration on this 35,500 sqm mixed-use development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Snøhetta: International transdisciplinary practice spanning architecture, interior, product, branding, and masterplan. Comparable service breadth to MARZ, with much larger scale but a similar integrated-design philosophy.
• BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): Large experimental architecture practice known for research-driven, parametric, and mixed-use developments. Comparable in emphasis on experimental form-finding and mixed-use typologies to MARZ's commerce-center and educational work.
• Kengo Kuma and Associates: International practice deeply rooted in material research, particularly wood and natural materials. Directly comparable to MARZ's engineered-wood research program and material behavior methodology.
• Zaha Hadid Architects: Global architecture powerhouse and former employer of MARZ founder Hooman Talebi. Operates at significantly larger scale with experimental parametric design philosophy that parallels MARZ's research-driven approach, making it the closest stylistic and methodological reference.

Direct peers

• Atelier Bow-Wow: Research-driven architectural practice exploring the relationship between buildings, behavior, and micro-context. Comparable to MARZ in research-led methodology and small studio size with high output per project.
• MAD Architects: Globally active architecture firm known for experimental organic forms and parametric design with strong Asian and Middle East presence. Comparable to MARZ in formal experimentation, mixed-use masterplans, and East-West project portfolio.
• Neri&Hu Design and Research Office: Transdisciplinary design office integrating architecture, interior, product, and graphic design under one roof with a research-driven methodology. Closely comparable to MARZ's five-pillar service model and integrated client offerings.
• Heatherwick Studio: London-based transdisciplinary studio working across architecture, product, and masterplanning with a material-experimentation focus. Comparable to MARZ in scale, transdisciplinarity, and emphasis on physical prototyping and material innovation.
• Office of Architecture in Barcelona ( OAB ): Mid-size contemporary architecture studio working across commercial, residential, and cultural typologies. Comparable to MARZ in studio scale and typology mix, though with less formal experimentation.
• Studio Gang: Practice known for research-driven, material-informed architecture with strong inter-disciplinary sensibility. Comparable to MARZ in emphasis on material performance driving form, and in scale of recent projects.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6gv9UODUux2br6e3TnhMqw
• Facebookfacebook.com/marzdesignarchitecture
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marz-design-architecture
• Instagraminstagram.com/marz__design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Marz Design | Architecture