This project finds itself in a neighborhood which is considered as low status. There is almost a considerable distance between this spot and the city center rendering the site as not so profitable for the building contractors. This is the main reason why we suggested the owner of the property build a decent villa for himself instead of an apartment to sell.

Process:

Locating the Mass:

Since the geometry of the property is rather narrow and becomes even narrower at one end, it was decided to be located at the wider side. This is while some building regulations forbid such a positioning, but we managed to convince the authorities that architecture of the house would best work in this way.

Planning the Spaces:

• Basement

When planning the spaces, the client mentioned that he wanted the house to look like a house and not an apartment! This imposed a limitation to the number of floors which led us to seriously consider having a basement. While the first option that comes to mind might be placing the parking in the basement, we ended up saving the long ramp’s area by locating the parking space on the ground floor and turning the basement into a very desirable space to work and workout! In order for the basement to have good natural light and view, a change of height was made in the yard which improved its design by adding some dynamism and increasing curiosity to look down.

• Ground Floor

The client wished to throw parties at his place which required a united big living space integrated to the yard so that it could accommodate a relatively large number of people. That is where the idea of the sloped roof was formed. The bigger the space, the higher the ceiling. To reach a decent height for the vast living area, a void was provided which also allowed a nicely formed sloped roof visible from the inside. This also meant more natural light could enter this space from two different levels.

Another important desire of the client was to have a completely separated entrance area with enough space to leave shoes and other items of clothing when entering the house. This comes from the Iranian culture of cleanness and the habit of taking shoes off before going inside. This space is reachable both from the garage and the street.

• First Floor

The first floor consists of 3 bedrooms one of which is the master one with its own walking closet and bathroom. We also managed to add a storage for the house. The client wanted the laundry to be located in an open space rather than an enclosed one which is why it is put in the spacious balcony of the master bedroom. The bedroom corridor opens to the beautiful view of a sloped roof and a big terrace, reached through two luminous passageways around the void. These passageways and the void together, connect the yard, the ground floor, and the first floor quite smoothly.

The apartment was on the fourth floor of a 12-year-old building. The client needed the apartment to look more modern and functional so that it could be sold at a higher price.

Main flaws:

• The false ceiling design had reduced the overall height of the living space to a great extent, making it look smaller than it actually was.
• The kitchen was raised up about 20cm due to plumbing consideration. This change of height did not look good, nor did it function properly.
• Another problem with the kitchen was that it had a separate space for cooking which had occupied 2 big windows for that small space only. Leaving the rest of the kitchen without light.
• There was an old fireplace which needed to be either removed or renovated to fit the place.
• The floor and kitchen tiles as well as the cabinets needed to be changed.

Changes Made:

• The walls of the separate cooking part were removed so that a luminous space could be used as the dining area.
• The false ceiling was removed and a mere minimal one was designed to allow some hidden lighting.
• The kitchen floor was flattened and united with the living space allowing a nice island to separate them.
• Changing the old MDF cabinets with glossy white ones, the inside structure remained to reduce expenses.
• Flooring material chosen for the space was something more reflective and lighter to make the area look bigger.
• The fireplace was kept but covered with thermo wood to give it a more pleasing look.

Lavasan Energy Efficient Villa

This project was a practice of energy efficiency in a residential building. The site was located in Lavasan which has a cold semi-arid climate. This area is also known for its luxurious villas and houses. Challenges of the project included thinking up passive strategies to save energy, and the topography of the land which included a 23% slope.

To acquire a clear understanding of the climate, including wind direction and speeds, highest and lowest temperatures and the desired comfort area, Climate Consultant was used.

Regarding the geometry, this building has been simplified as much as possible to reduce energy loss through walls. The fewer the walls exposed to outdoor spaces, the less the energy loss.

Planning

This villa is consisted of two floors with 4 bedrooms, one of which is for the guests.

Ground Floor Plan

The ground floor is allocated to the parking, living room, kitchen, and the guest room.

Mr. Kaviani’s Apartment

This project is located in one of the best districts of Gorgan. The client wanted a residential building with 6 floors, and 2 apartments in each floor. Considering the jungle view from the 6^th floor, we suggested the last floor to have only one apartment with the yard in front of it.

Planning:

Ground Floor

The parking space is in basement. On the ground floor plan there is a great lobby and entrance which eventually lead to gym and a little pool and sauna. The janitor’s place is also located in the lobby, but the entrances have been separated with the help of a buffer zone when entring the building.

The Flats

The client wanted one of the four bedrooms to be for the guests and he insisted its separation from the zone of the other bedrooms so that the guest could come and go without intruding the privacy of others. Thus, when entering the flats, you can choose whether to proceed to go to the living room, the bedrooms, or the guest room.

Saadat Apartment

This residential building is located in one of the best districts of the city. it is a 2-flat 5-tstorey building.

Planning

Basement:

The client wanted the place to have both a pool and a gym. Although at first it seemed like the ground floor would have been the best place to locate the pool, analyzing the costs of stopping the leaks and the executive difficulties, we decided to move it to the basement. Considering the fact that the basement should have accommodated 20 cars too, it was a bit of a challenge to place the pool there as well. Plus, the pool’s entrance should have been separated from the parking or else it would have been unusable. Finally, with the help of a two-door elevator, we added a zone in front of it, so that the occupants could choose whether they want to go to the parking or to the pool.

Ground Floor:

Lobby, Janitor’s place, storage, conference hall, and a spacious gym are located in this level.

The Flats:

There are two mirrored flats consisting of 3 bedrooms and a big living room and kitchen. The only requirement of the client was that the two flats’ entrances bee hidden from each other. This was due to the Iranians’ culture of removing the shoes and leaving them at the doorstep. This should create a bad view which is why they are hidden in a corner. Additionally, there has been a space assigned for a cupboard for shoes.

82 Apartment

This project was a bit challenging due to its narrow proportion and also the limited access points. What made it even harder was that it had to have 5 floors which meant we needed at least 5 parking spaces in the basement.

Planning

Basement:

By placing the staircase and the elevator appropriately, we managed to fit 5 parking spaces in the basement. But this only worked because the client said 2 floors of this place were supposed to be for himself, so it was okay it one of these car parks was a little difficult.

Ground Floor:

This floor consists of a small lobby, the janitor’s place, and a pool.

The Flats:

Because of the staircase and elevator’s position in the middle, it was a bit tricky to define the different spaces of the house properly, but finally a 3-bedroom flat was designed conveniently.

Sustainable Towers

This project was a sustainable residential complex in Valiasr street in Tehran. There were supposed to be 2 towers in a site with 10000 square meters of area.

Site analysis:

In this stage with the help of Climate Consultant, the dominant wind direction, both in summer and winter, was detected.

Positioning of the Mass:

When buildings become higher than a certain amount, their shadows both on the site and the neighboring buildings becomes important, so, different alternatives were tried to reach the best place to locate the buildings.

Wind Analysis:

One of the concepts of the project was to have green space in all floors which meant having a lot of terraces. So with CFD Autodesk, two alternatives were simulated and turned out that terraces helped reducing the wind effect on the facades.