LOOKING FOR ZEN-SPIRATION
27 Feb 2020
Check out this beautifully articulated domestic landscape in Tehran, which answers the challenges of the site while producing a Zen-like simplicity that is both attractive and low maintenance.
Designed by Adib Khaeez and Ramtin Taherian of architecture firm Raavi Studio in Iran, Afra House, located in the town of Lavasan north of Tehran, sits at the top of a steeply sloped site with a split-level aspect.
Turning the existing dwelling into a duplex (private home and office/staff space) and addressing the topographic challenges of the site to create better access from the street for stage one of this renovation project.
Taking a multi-entrance approach, the architects shifted the front entrance of the home to the first level and designed an elevated bridge to the new front entrance, while a long flight of stairs granted entry from the street and a path through the garden provided access to outdoor features and the lower level spaces of the home.
The second stage of this home overhaul was about adding the fun stuff, including the usual features and functions necessary to a vacation house such as an outdoor pool and Jacuzzi.
Making the most of the inclined plot, a series of terraces, open walkways and a rooftop have been ‘greened’ with location appropriate and low-maintenance plantings that spread across the site.
“As a whole, the project consists of two old and new volumes, connected by a bridge that navigates over the steep and contrasted landscape, with the swimming pool on one side and the garden on the other. The two levels of the landscape have different characteristics that could be described as one being more public, consisting of parking spaces, the entrance and janitor’s suite, while the other works as a more private yard containing the swimming pool, access to the Jacuzzi, office and the green garden,” the architects explain.
The gardens of Afra House demonstrates a clever resolution to both the conditions of the environment and the complications presented by the terrain. With green views out almost every window in the form of manicured plots and leafy teasers tucked into nooks and crannies, this verdant offering is a welcome sight in an otherwise barren, and snowy, landscape.
Landscape by Amir Daryani.
Images © Parham Taghioff, Deed Studio, Milad Namdar via ArchDaily