The architect, who is lovingly known as “Saffron Nina” in Zurich

Nina Behjati, you were born in Teheran. What memories do you have of the first three years of your life that you spent in Iran?

NINA BEHJATI: I have a very strong emotional connection with the country of my birth. My parents left the country for Germany just before the revolution. Initially as a teenager I used to travel back to my home country. Familiar smells instantly evoked my earliest childhood memories: street food, successions of buildings and adventures with my extended family.

As a family, how did you establish yourselves in Germany?

My dad had studied chemistry in Germany so we didn't have to start from scratch. There also was no issue of language barriers for me because I had attended the German Embassy Kindergarten in Teheran and was brought up bilingual. Nevertheless, it was a turbulent time. On my 14th birthday, my dad worked out that we had moved ten times in ten years – my mother had sometimes not even finished unpacking and we were upping sticks again. I had no choice but to quickly make connections and this is something which still today stands me in good stead both personally and professionally.

Can you remember why you wanted to study architecture?

It was my dream job from an early age because as a girl I had wrongly believed that my favourite aunt was an architect. Later on, I achieved very good grades at school, especially in natural sciences, but I was also really interested in art. And I found that architecture gave me the opportunity to combine the two. I started studying at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg, where we were free to select the courses we took. So I absorbed everything to do with architecture, learnt about the aspects of the science of structural design and construction, but also attended courses in urban development, architectural philosophy and freehand drawing.

You were the recipient of a grant, allowing you to spend a year studying at Columbia University in New York. Did this change your view of architecture?

Yes, in New York I was able to work in an interdisciplinary team specialising in town planning. So I expanded by ideas of cities and their interactions. I have never lost this wide field of vision held by urban planners. New York was a whirlwind experience for me, more a case of flying around than studying. I was so inspired that I often worked in the university until 4 in the morning and then went walking around the city. It opened up a wealth of possibilities for me.

At the age of 26, you gained your diploma in architecture. How did you get onto the career ladder?

I had decided that once I had graduated I wanted to build a house as soon as I could. I wanted to handle everything from the first drawings to handing over the keys. But because Germany was in the throes of a recession, this wasn’t possible. My interest in the Swiss architectural scene brought me to Lucerne. In Weggis on the shores of Lake Lucerne, I got to work for a couple of artists and built them an annex to a historical building dating from 1850. And as hoped, I handled it all from the paper drawings to handing over the keys. Later on, I worked for a firm in Zurich and completed the two-year Master’s in “History and Theory of Architecture” at ETH.

Four years ago, you hit on the idea of importing saffron from your homeland and selling it in Switzerland, how did this come about?

As a mother of two children, I often had nuts and dried fruits in the house and would happily share them with other parents. People were increasingly asking me where they could buy such healthy and high-quality snacks in Zurich. When I told them that my grandma and aunts regularly sent me packages of delicacies from Iran, the other parents asked if they could place orders with me too. During this time, my dad was coaching a young businessman who was exporting implants to Iran. I spoke to him and said: “It would be better to coach your daughter and bring a little piece of home to Switzerland.”

Why did you choose saffron?

I wanted to set up a business that I could control myself. A case full of saffron seemed like a good place to start. Added to this was the fact that my uncle was an experienced businessman and lived in the part of the country where most saffron is grown. My dad handled quality assurance and my mum helped out with communication. Saffron is a unique product. It is concentrated solar energy that has been used as an anti-depressant for over 2000 years and simply makes you happy – at least, I don’t know any bad-tempered saffron traders. Even as kid, my motto was: “The sun is always shining.” It kept me going through difficult periods.

Talking of difficult periods: your plan to sell saffron to the hospitality trade was hampered by covid and lockdown.

It was very hard at the start – I needed to be more patient and had to find new sales channels. But my motto rang true here too; despite the grey clouds, there were rays of sunshine. A major fishmonger became a regular customer and set up a separate section for the “The Safran Project” on his website. Several gourmet restaurants approached me through this link. This was followed by joint ventures with local ice cream manufacturers and producers of panettone. Saffron is very versatile; it is used in food, drinks, for dying, in cosmetic products and food supplements. I am convinced that we will see huge demand for it in medicinal applications too. The cook in one old people's home uses saffron three times a week in his kitchen and regularly receives very positive feedback from residents.

You currently work in the field in which you studied and are a trader of saffron. Does this two-pronged approach work?

I am very grateful that I am able to experience such different sides to me. It used to be the case that your job was partly decided by fate, but today you can do so many different things - one after another or all at the same time. When advising house builders on very complex matters, my rational side is often challenged yet when selling saffron, it’s all about sensuality and manual work. Sometimes, the two even overlap. Some time ago, I was contacted by a neighbour here in Seefeld, a trained financial expert, who currently works with savings and investments. He wanted to talk about a culinary joint venture, but soon we found ourselves focusing on how I could help him as an architect since he wanted to convert the washhouse of an old rectory into a shop. I helped him with the change-of-use and approval process and so was able to play a small part in stimulating the local area at the same time.

So saffron doesn't just build bridges with your homeland but here in Zurich’s Seefeld too?

Yes, as a result of this business project, I have made many more contacts and gone into joint ventures with neighbours that I would never have even considered possible at the outset. Now everyone in the area calls me “Saffron Nina”.