Description

[GOL]KHANEH is located on the outskirts of the city of Karaj, about 60km west of Tehran. It is designed and built as a vacation home for a family of 6. Two adjacent but separate plots – each about 5000 square meters – form the site for this project. Plot A was thick with old fruit trees while Plot B, adjacent to a noisy street with a chaotic line of low-rise residential buildings, was dry and barely had any trees because of a previous fire. Therefore, Plot B was chosen as the building site and creating a buffer to maximize privacy and limit views and noise transfer from the neighbouring street to the site quickly became a priority in design.

Massing of this project is a direct response to site conditions as it aims to form a long and linear volume - similar to a thick wall - and act as a barrier against the noise and chaos of the adjacent street and to block views into the site. The volume is further deformed to embrace the swimming pool and create a private pocket around it. Insertion of the driveway and the swimming pool affect the volume on the ground level and result in shaded areas for drop-off and outdoor sitting.

The resulting dynamic and modern form is wrapped with a brick skin - a long-standing element in Iranian architecture. Bricks are from Heydari Kiln - traditional full bricks each made by hand. The brick layering technique is “Kaleh-rasteh”, one full brick followed by a half brick. Three simple variations on this technique create the opportunity to have different textures on the façade to register level 0 and level 1 as two separate layers and have porosity at windows and balcony balustrades.

A line of full-height windows on the ground floor opens the façade to focus all views on the swimming pool and on Level 1 a long shaded terrace connecting the bedrooms overlooks the pool and the rest of the site. Back of the building remains closed and solid. Structural system is concrete slab and columns with columns pushed to the sides and following the direction and form of the building. Landscape design remains integral to the project. Path lines are following building lines and material palette is cast-concrete and gravel. Plants are chosen from a wild and grass-type palette to create a natural and accidental feel.

Farsi

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