Fab Lab Tehran

Fab Lab dedicated to education and innovation

Tehran Province, Pardis Technology Park, Noavari 8, Iran,

Fab Lab

Superficie 170 m²

Ouvert en Juin 2014

Type de structure Private company

Exploré en Mars 2017


Fab Lab Tehran is the second of its kind in Iran. The place is open to all and dedicated to create educative workshops and help makers to develop and execute any kind of project.

Réseaux sociaux

Thématiques principales

Technologie - machines & outils Communauté Entrepreneuriat Education Design Architecture

Cet atelier est fait pour les :

Grand public Etudiant.es Associations Ecoles & universités

Interview & visite guidée

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Fab Lab Tehran’s idea surfaced when Mohammadhossein and Yahya were studying architecture at Tehran University of Art. Their hobby: making almost anything. However, their University didn’t have space enough nor the machines to let them unleash their creativity.

When Mohammadhossein saw in 2012 Neil Gershenfeld’s TED talk on Fab Lab, he realized creating one was the solution. Yahya and Mohsen Jafari, his friends, joined the adventure. 2 years later, they dedicated a 6m² room in their architect studio office, in the center of Tehran, containing initially a laser cutting machine. In 2015, the Fab Lab grew bigger, from 6 to 120m², with more machines to enable makers to create end-to-end projects. Their first mission was to focus on education, by bringing the Fab Lab to the student. They started to organize workshops on architecture in partnerships with universities. The success of their initiative brought more makers into the lab, willing to benefit from the community knowledge and to prototype.

Today, the Fab Lab has got a new location in Pardis Technology Park, a governmental innovation hub. They benefit from 1 year of free location and are in contact with many companies willing to cooperate with them. The main goal of this very energic and positive team remains to be an open place and community for anyone willing to learn or develop a project.

In Fab Lab Tehran, makers are mostly under 30 years old, and have an architectural background (60%). The rest of them are artists (20%) and engineers (20%). The part of kids coming to the lab grows further: they usually come to design their fiction personage and 3D print it, even at 7 years old, using the Thingmaker design application. Men as women frequent the lab with approximately 50 users per months. According tot he team, 500 people came in the lab since its creation (mid 2015).

Fab Lab Tehran developed a close relationship with its users mainly thanks to a growing social networks community, workshops at Tehran University and of course word of mouth. The most important part of the lab team’s job is “explaining the idea of Fab Lab”, and all the fabrication possibilities that can be reached. That’s why most of users come back to benefit from the knowledge of the team. Some users are working on R&D projects (mainly on architecture) closely with the Fab Lab’s team who offers a support on design and prototyping. Their relation gets even closer as some makers have joined the Fab Lab team to work specifically on R&D. They are accompanied in their project from design to sometimes business development.

At the very beginning of the lab, there was no business plan. All the more since Mohammadhossein and Yahya had already their own architect studio which hosted their first lab for private purposes. They once helped a maker developing his idea using their lab. It evolved into a business contract and then into a real partnership. This step enabled them to invest more in the lab, 70.000$ for machines and a new place. But today, they don’t yet make profit out of the lab. It’s essentially a research and educational place.

Today their 3 main sources of revenue are

  • 50% from projects and research : design and fabrication of prototypes for professional clients and support of makers in their end-to-end projects

  • 30% from services : use of machines

  • 20% from workshops and education

The lab main costs are wages (70%), materials (20%) and daily expenditures (10%) as the space is free for the 1st year. They estimate a 70.000$ budget for 2017 without profit for the 1st year.

In the near future, Mohammadhossein and Yahya plan to buy new innovative machines (a high-tech 3D printer and a robotic arm to print large-scale buildings) and to develop a brand-new website including machines and space reservation functionalities.

Fab Lab Tehran has today a team of seven people : the three co-founders, four designers and experts in fabrication and one machines’ technician.

Four architect tutors and some industrial designers punctually come in the lab to help the team for workshops. Until now, two have been organized in Tehran University. During the 1st workshop, 50 students experimented ideation and prototyping to learn how to fold a huge wooden sheet thanks to the hinge’s technic. Through the second one, 46 students made a 300-pieces structure using a milling machine. Usually, 5 mentors bring the lab’s equipments to the university and lead the workshop during one week.

In the future, the team aims at developing a Fab Kid workshop and organizing from 1 to 2 open days in the 6 following months.

Daily, the lab’s team provides services, machines and advices to its community. As each project is unique, they didn’t implement any process. If a project has a business potential, the lab can accompany the maker in its commercial development. Their strong connections with industrial companies, usually located in Pardis Technology Park, simplify the process of production and investment researches.

Their objective is also to help other people with creating their own lab. According to Mohammadhossein, in a near future, the number of labs in Iran will increase.

Yahya (one of the co-founder) is the documentation expert. He implemented the Trello tool in the lab as an agile management platform to document everything : workshops, private works of the lab, …

Regarding workshops, each student has a trello account and everything is documented and opensource - see our Best Practices below -

The other projects developed in the lab are documented in a private trello board. Every project has a card and every activity’s history is documented so that each member of the team can access and use the files. Thereby all the team is trained to use Trello and can train new joiners.

Today, the team hasn’t posted yet any opensource documentation regarding projects (even if it is work in progress), but many are inspired of websites such as Instructables.

Fab Lab Tehran’s idea surfaced when Mohammadhossein and Yahya were studying architecture at Tehran University of Art. Their hobby: making almost anything. However, their University didn’t have space enough nor the machines to let them unleash their creativity.

When Mohammadhossein saw in 2012 Neil Gershenfeld’s TED talk on Fab Lab, he realized creating one was the solution. Yahya and Mohsen Jafari, his friends, joined the adventure. 2 years later, they dedicated a 6m² room in their architect studio office, in the center of Tehran, containing initially a laser cutting machine. In 2015, the Fab Lab grew bigger, from 6 to 120m², with more machines to enable makers to create end-to-end projects. Their first mission was to focus on education, by bringing the Fab Lab to the student. They started to organize workshops on architecture in partnerships with universities. The success of their initiative brought more makers into the lab, willing to benefit from the community knowledge and to prototype.

Today, the Fab Lab has got a new location in Pardis Technology Park, a governmental innovation hub. They benefit from 1 year of free location and are in contact with many companies willing to cooperate with them. The main goal of this very energic and positive team remains to be an open place and community for anyone willing to learn or develop a project.

In Fab Lab Tehran, makers are mostly under 30 years old, and have an architectural background (60%). The rest of them are artists (20%) and engineers (20%). The part of kids coming to the lab grows further: they usually come to design their fiction personage and 3D print it, even at 7 years old, using the Thingmaker design application. Men as women frequent the lab with approximately 50 users per months. According tot he team, 500 people came in the lab since its creation (mid 2015).

Fab Lab Tehran developed a close relationship with its users mainly thanks to a growing social networks community, workshops at Tehran University and of course word of mouth. The most important part of the lab team’s job is “explaining the idea of Fab Lab”, and all the fabrication possibilities that can be reached. That’s why most of users come back to benefit from the knowledge of the team. Some users are working on R&D projects (mainly on architecture) closely with the Fab Lab’s team who offers a support on design and prototyping. Their relation gets even closer as some makers have joined the Fab Lab team to work specifically on R&D. They are accompanied in their project from design to sometimes business development.

At the very beginning of the lab, there was no business plan. All the more since Mohammadhossein and Yahya had already their own architect studio which hosted their first lab for private purposes. They once helped a maker developing his idea using their lab. It evolved into a business contract and then into a real partnership. This step enabled them to invest more in the lab, 70.000$ for machines and a new place. But today, they don’t yet make profit out of the lab. It’s essentially a research and educational place.

Today their 3 main sources of revenue are

  • 50% from projects and research : design and fabrication of prototypes for professional clients and support of makers in their end-to-end projects

  • 30% from services : use of machines

  • 20% from workshops and education

The lab main costs are wages (70%), materials (20%) and daily expenditures (10%) as the space is free for the 1st year. They estimate a 70.000$ budget for 2017 without profit for the 1st year.

In the near future, Mohammadhossein and Yahya plan to buy new innovative machines (a high-tech 3D printer and a robotic arm to print large-scale buildings) and to develop a brand-new website including machines and space reservation functionalities.

Fab Lab Tehran has today a team of seven people : the three co-founders, four designers and experts in fabrication and one machines’ technician.

Four architect tutors and some industrial designers punctually come in the lab to help the team for workshops. Until now, two have been organized in Tehran University. During the 1st workshop, 50 students experimented ideation and prototyping to learn how to fold a huge wooden sheet thanks to the hinge’s technic. Through the second one, 46 students made a 300-pieces structure using a milling machine. Usually, 5 mentors bring the lab’s equipments to the university and lead the workshop during one week.

In the future, the team aims at developing a Fab Kid workshop and organizing from 1 to 2 open days in the 6 following months.

Daily, the lab’s team provides services, machines and advices to its community. As each project is unique, they didn’t implement any process. If a project has a business potential, the lab can accompany the maker in its commercial development. Their strong connections with industrial companies, usually located in Pardis Technology Park, simplify the process of production and investment researches.

Their objective is also to help other people with creating their own lab. According to Mohammadhossein, in a near future, the number of labs in Iran will increase.

Yahya (one of the co-founder) is the documentation expert. He implemented the Trello tool in the lab as an agile management platform to document everything : workshops, private works of the lab, …

Regarding workshops, each student has a trello account and everything is documented and opensource - see our Best Practices below -

The other projects developed in the lab are documented in a private trello board. Every project has a card and every activity’s history is documented so that each member of the team can access and use the files. Thereby all the team is trained to use Trello and can train new joiners.

Today, the team hasn’t posted yet any opensource documentation regarding projects (even if it is work in progress), but many are inspired of websites such as Instructables.

Technologies & procédés mis à disposition

Impression 3D Fraisage numérique Découpe laser Electronique

Services proposés

Hébergement de startups & projets Formations & ateliers pratiques Adhésions à l'atelier Prototypage Coaching & mentorat de projets

Nos pratiques inspirantes

Ce que nous faisons de particulier pour gérer notre espace collaboratif

The smart use of free tools to document all labs activities and projects

What is it?

The fablab team has developed a clear process of documentation for their workshops and all kind of projects created in the lab. It allows to track their evolution, to document them and share it with the community.

In concrete terms?

All the activities of the lab are recorded in a Trello account, providing a clear status of projects developments and the help needed of next steps to be accomplished. All workshops are also documented step by step on trello boards and available to everyone on internet.

Why it’s interesting?

For the lab community, it allows them to share easily their needs and ideas, and also to keep a trace of their development by documenting them.

To access the Trello accounts of the lab:

hinge panelling workshop

nexorade workshop


The integration of R&D projects at early stages in the lab’s team

What is it?

The fablab Tehran integrates in its team researchers working on new technologies and provide them with a full accessibility to the lab and its machines. The objectives is to help them develop their projects and focus on future incomes thanks to their researches.

In concrete terms?

Makers working on interesting projects including R&D can join the fablab team, and a trust agreement (not written), allows them to freely use machines and benefit from the fablab expertise to develop prototypes and even beyond.

Why it’s interesting?

First, the fablab Tehran is truly creating a community of makers by offering a free access to the tools and machines. Also it enhance the development of interesting projects that can lead to important products or services for the society. The other aspect is that all those relations are based on trust, meaning that the community is strongly built on values of share and co-working.


Nos projets de makers

Inspirez-vous des projets DIY de notre équipe & nos membres

5th element fabrication laboratory

Project history:

Amirhossein is a maker, in a sense that he likes to fabricate things from the beginning until the end. He started as a civil engineer, but switched to fabrication and design to follow his passion. Today he fabricates and sell his own creations, from vases to mirror structures or lamps. He his dedicated to finding new designs and techniques, and make only tailored pieces or on a small series.

How does he interact with the Fab Lab?

Amirhossein uses the Fab Lab’s machines to prototype his creations and even produce them when all tools are available. So it is his laboratory and also his workshop. He his also part of the lab community and in that sense benefits from their skills and help when he needs.


Algaerium

Project history

Azadeh Barimani has taken the mission to create sustainable environments for human beings living in cities facing pollution issues. Her project can be resumed in one word: Oxygen! While working on her Phd in Architectural technologies at the University of Tehran, she became familiar with some fields of biotechnology and discovered the outstanding potential of Algaes, responsible for 70-80% of the oxygen in our planet. She joined Fab Lab Tehran team 3 months ago and is now working on developing the Algaerium product, a system of algaes, which will improve the quality of air in our inner spaces : houses and offices.

How does she interact with the Fab Lab?

Azadeh has now integrated Fab Lab Tehran team to work specifically on her project. With the team, they are currently fine tuning the mechanical cultivation system of some algaes, spirulina and chlorella, and are working on the design of the product and its user-friendly experience. They can use the machines to prototype and iterate quickly and benefit of the team expertise and network

What is next?

The final prototype is almost ready and should be presented to investors very soon. The team is expecting to launch it on the Iranian market by March 2018.


Active bending transformable structures

Story of the project

Ramtin Haghnazar has been working for a year with Fab Lab Tehran as a mentor. Currently working on his PhD in Architectural Technology at the University of Tehran, he developed an R&D section on creative design and organizes workshops with the Fab Lab for students to make them work on digital fabrication and new design processes. Nowadays, he works on a R&D project of “bionic structures”, or how to get new architectural technics inspired by nature.

How does he interact with the Fab Lab?

Ramtin has access to the lab to use the machines and prototypes his tests for his researches on bionic structures. The access to laser cutting and 3D printing allow him to work on different material and construction technics. He understands also the potential for Fab Lab for educational purposes, so he is fully implicated in the creation of new workshops for students.


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