Lavasan Vila, Bijan Shafei, Bahare Zenian

Project Name: Lavasan Vila,Tehran
Function: Art Gallery -Vila
Office : Design office
Lead Architects: Bijan Shafei, Bahare Zenian
Design Team: Sarvin Behmaram
Interior Design: Design office
Client: Mis.Parvane Moghadam
Executive Engineer: Design office
Lighting: Bahman Sarabi
Mechanical Installations Engineer: Mohamad Sarabi
Mechanical Structure: Inverter
Structural Engineer: Kouroush Safaei
Structure: Steel structure
Location:Tehran,Lavasan,Afjeh village
Total Land Area: 1100 m2
Area of Construction: 450 m2
Date: 2011
Photographer: Mohamad Negad Beryani
Website: www.7moonshouse.com
Email: design.office2010@gmail.com
Instagram: 7moonshouse

This lot is located on a steep tract of land in Afjeh Village, East Lavasan. The slope is so sharp that there is a 10-meter height difference between the entrance of the site and its ending point. In addition, this lot is considered as a thalweg to the surrounding lands. Due to the lack of necessary foresight for soil conservation in building the northern plot, special structural measures should have been taken for the prevention of landslides and fractures.
The physical planning of the project consisted of a gallery for the exhibition of arts as well as a residential space in two floors. Taking into account the shape, geometry, and topography of the land in the provision of design alternatives, attention was paid to the more pleasant view and scenery of the surrounding area, especially as seen from the heights, trying to implement a north/south extension, using the difference of height to achieve two separate occupancies. Therefore, separate entries for the gallery and the residential unit were installed.
A pantry and restroom were built for the art exhibits gallery, with the utility room located on the back of this gallery. The gallery’s interior space is even, with no natural light, double-glazed walls and thermal insulation, and the materials used in the façade were picked in a way that they may reflect the surrounding area. Due to the four-season climate of the project’s neighborhood, reflecting the seasons on the exterior façade of the gallery is made possible, and the area of the gallery is separated from the other parts of the building, both material-wise and formalistically, by implementing a recession to the main pillars. As formerly stated, access to the entrance porch of the residential building is provided via a bridge. The pre-entrance space includes a dressing room, guests’ restroom, as well as a guest house with a separate bathroom. Then, we enter the living room space that is attached to the kitchen. This space provides access to the next floor via a one-sided staircase the reflection of which on the eastern façade has bestowed a special charm to the building’s volume. On the second floor, two whole bedrooms equipped with separate bathrooms as well as a laundry room and closet have been placed. Access to this floor’s balcony is made possible through the linking hallway as well as the master bedroom. The main balcony is designed in a way that takes advantage of a panorama view of the surrounding sceneries, with three open sides. To complement this expanse of view, a circular staircase offers access from this balcony to a second one on the highest point of the roof. This balcony is a place for relaxing with a far-reaching landscape of the best sceneries around; in other words, the green scenery on southwestern Afjeh – the perfect spot for peace and quiet. The façade of this building is covered with prefabricated frames made of hand-molded adobe bricks in 20*20 dimensions. All the walls have been built with light concrete and profile, covered with mineral wool insulators as thick as three centimeters, topped with reticulation insulators, and eventually cemented. All the bricks have been attached to the frame with a special UV-resistant glue, and then self-colored with brick earth and pointing cement. The less visible roof is built with clay particles, in a slanted style, injected with Nano-covering so as to facilitate the smooth flow of water.