منزل آقای کاظمی اثر هوشنگ سیحون

Kazemi Residence, designed by Houshang Seyhoun

The Kazemi Residence stands as a successful example of the Free Plan paradigm, one of the five principles of modern architecture, applied in residential design. While in Houshang Seyhoun’s House and Office, a duality of architectural language can be observed throughout the project — from the blind cladding wall to the dialogue between the architectural language of the shell and that of the interior — Seyhoun’s interpretation of the Free Plan paradigm in the Kazemi Residence appears to be more influenced by Richard Neutra than by Le Corbusier. In Le Corbusier’s conception, the Free Plan achieves its freedom within a disciplined and coherent geometric order. In contrast, Neutra’s approach to the free plan emerges through the arrangement of functions in a way that restores spatial continuity and fluid circulation among them. A defining feature of Neutra’s residential projects from the 1950s is the intense focus on minimizing the conventional boundaries between interior and exterior spaces. A clear trace of the glass house typology—which maximizes visual connection between inside and outside—can be observed in the Kazemi Residence. On one side, a two-story cladding wall faces the veranda, while on the other, corner-wrapping ribbon windows provide the building with a sense of maximum transparency. The Kazemi House distinctly generates a spatial configuration that enables its inhabitants to extend their use of space into the open air. Inside, all subspaces are designed in relation to the transparent façade, visually oriented toward it. Moreover, the façade divisions and structural lines follow a visual dialogue, harmonizing with one another. The precise compositional lines of the façade correspond to the structural layout of the veranda’s roof projection. The slender thickness of this cantilever recalls the structural proportions of Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion, while the canopy screen at the edge of the veranda filters the incoming light through the cladding wall. At the same time, the contrast between the transparency of the combined cladding wall and corner windows and the solidity of the stone volume creates a compelling interplay. The remaining floor plans of the project reveal certain inconsistencies: the initial design appears to have conceived the ground floor as a complete rectangle, while existing photographs depict it as an L-shaped configuration. This subtle break in plan enhances the visual connection with the spaces adjacent to the two-layered veranda façade.

مرجع عکس‌ها: کتاب هوشنگ سیحون (معمار، هنرمند، نقاش)

تالیف: شهریار خانی‌زاد