Description
The MAJD neighborhood, situated in District No.2 of the Mashhad Municipality, is one of the older neighborhoods with a history that dates back about one hundred years. The history of the combination of garden houses, fruit gardens, and grape vines dates back to at least four hundred years ago. The traces of this organic substrate can be seen today in the form of non-geometric streets that accommodate trees that are several years old.
As a result of the residents of the neighborhood having lived there for extended periods of time, the majority of the relatives of the same family have chosen to stay only a short distance apart from one another. This issue has, over the course of time, resulted in the development of neighborhood relations, which has resulted in the people developing a sense of belonging and a passion for the fabric. When compared to other parts of the city, the MAJD neighborhood is one of the few regions in Mashhad that has a relatively low rate of construction. As a result of the demand from the younger generation and people who are trying to improve the quality of their living space, the majority of the constructions that are being done in this region today are being done in response to the need.
The employer is one of the old residents of MAJD, whose proximity to the workplace (gold shop) and the history of living in the neighborhood was her main motivation to continue living in this context.
The project was defined in a land area of 250 meters to the north and had a high density for our office. The client's initial plan was to construct a six-story apartment for the owner's use on one floor, and the remaining floors would be shaped like a classic building and would be available for rent on the remaining floors.
During the preliminary research and discussions regarding the lifestyle of the employer, the prospect of extending the residential level to a total of two floors and the definition of a duplex unit were both offered. Also, based on the results of the site studies, the potential of the upper floors was determined in terms of the lack of surrounding nobility and also the possibility of proper visibility. As a result, the duplex unit was positioned on the upper two stories, with the majority of its roof serving as a roof garden, giving the impression that it was a home with a courtyard converted into a residential flat.
Idea
Considering the employer's lack of investment attitude in the project and the creation of a quality house for themselves and the native residents of Baft, the first concern of our office was formed around the issue of how the residents of the project feel about belonging to the neighborhood also improve and develop the sense of belonging and the memories of the passers and the neighborhood relations and gives a new soul to its body.
On the other hand, the client's profession (selling gold), his elegance, and the way he notices the gold decorations and pieces he pulls from it gave us the trust to come to a consensus when it came to selecting the feature centered around the grape meme element. To serve as a recall of memories for the neighborhood's passersby, the grape meme evolved into a strategy to be a souvenir in place of the vanished Mashhad gardens and the memes of grapes that formerly adorned the streets and alleyways of this neighborhood.
The plan was created with flexibility and the potential for multi-purpose areas in single-unit floors. As an intermediate space, the terrace in the first step gives the kitchen work area privacy while also adding the quality of open and semi-open space to the depth of the space. The kitchen area is located behind the internal terrace with the benefit of natural light and ventilation. A space is formed next to the kitchen space, which can be a kitchen or a living space for family members, or it can be placed as a dining space in connection with the kitchen. With the disappearance of the definite borders of the spaces in the plan, the possibility of developing and resolving the existing spaces in the residential house from living, dining, and reception becomes possible, and reception becomes a part of the property.
The duplex unit was formed based on the employer's lifestyle in two areas for guest and family life on two floors. The ground floor of the duplex includes the guest bedroom, and the main kitchen with two functional areas, and the living area was designed openly and flexibly with the possibility of forming different areas. In the living space, the void and the linear staircase as well as the brick texture of the side walls that extend up to the upper floor arouses the audience's curiosity about the happenings on the upper floor.
The linear staircase leads us to the second floor of the duplex, where we expect to see the extension of the brick texture and the space between the floors in the first preview from the upper space. At the end of the staircase and turning to the space of the first floor, we face the internal and open courtyard of the sixth floor. Where the living space of the sixth floor becomes a suspended bridge between the lower floor and the sky of the open courtyard.
The linear staircase of the courtyard promises the continuation of events and the possibility of discovering and experiencing other qualities of the house on the upper floor and calls the audience to itself. In this process, due to the apartment format of the project, the vertical expansion of the spatial hierarchy replaces the horizontal expansion and allows the user to experience and adventure in the scales and qualities of a house.
