149 st. residentail aratment ←go back to all projects

natural ventilation

One of the design goals of the project was to respect the local architecture and use some form of performance and form indicators.

Gilan’s rural architecture is made up of rooms that are enclosed by porches and balconies. Due to the humid climate and the urgent need for ventilation these semi-open spaces are very functional and for about half of the year, the bulk of life flows through them. The existence of various openings in enclosed room spaces made it is possible to provide sustained air ventilation. During the preliminary stage of developing the project’s plans, considering the dominant northern-southern wind it was designed so that air ventilation is a possible.

controlling privacy of balconies

One of the factors encouraging residents to use balconies is the fact they’re not overlooking the surrounding buildings. In this project this was achieved with the help of the use of natural trees and creating a pattern and gazed wall.

In the second step, we tried to rehabilitate the traditional living space and balcony. SO four terraces were placed on each floor and in such a way so that each unit has a balcony in both northern and southern sides, all of which can be accessed through the bedrooms. Finally, no bedroom and living room was left without terrace and because of this accessibility gradually the culture of spending part of life outdoor became institutionalized.

Concept of the facade:

For facade design, through analysis and scrutinizing form of geometric characteristics of rural houses in Gilan we follows and obey the model that of drawn elements, horizontal and vertical rhythmic elements. In this project, these elements become horizontal protrusions to prevent rain penetration and vertical elements, windows and kitchen bedrooms are formed.

These elements, along with semi-open spaces and balcony, create the structure of the façade. The location of these elements was ascertained according to the plan and formation layout of the units. For some balconies, for privacy and confidentiality, an animated wood pattern was added. The pattern used in these is an abstract form of wooden structures. Ultimately this model also expands to the ceiling.

In the vernacular architecture of Gilan there are several major ways to build wall of which “zegali” and “zogmei” are more prominent.

In the zegaly method sticks and tree branches are placed parallel to each other and are harnessed to a structure. Source of zegal wood supply is the forest and their irregular size form one of the indices.

The existence of animated façades in the terraces, in addition to providing security and protection, makes controlling the amount of light and freedom of residents possible.

These walls can open and close utilizing a BMS System with an electric motor.

Preservation of existing trees

One of the most important indicators in the design of our project was a special consideration of green spaces and the preservation of old trees that are up to the roof in height. The importance of realizing this significant factor, despite the great value and price of land in this part of the city, we managed to only use 60% of the ground.

Our client initially refused to go along because of the reduced amount of salable space. Preserving these evergreen trees not only provides a margin of safety for the entire space but also protects the long-term status of birds and increases human relationship with nature.

Even housetop and roof garden

Preserving these evergreen trees not only provides a margin of safety for the entire space but also protects the long-term status of birds and increases human relationship with nature. In northern Iran, because of difficulties in sealing and disposal of rainwater, use of sloping roofs is very common. But in this project instead of using the usual method a flat roof with a garden has been constructed.

Because of the high groundwater level, the construction basement for underground space was not only unaffordable but the municipality also has cumbersome laws that could make problems. That's why in Rasht and other similar cities, parking space is situated on the ground floor. In the end, very little space remains as a garden or yard. As a result, interaction between residents and open space will be very limited. This problem becomes more acute when, due to the high density of the city, parks and public green spaces are negligible. Therefore in the end we are faced with poor quality of life.

A perfect solution to solve the above problem is the liberalization of unusable space into a conventional sloping roof as a roof garden. In this project, the entire roof, green space and public space built provide a good atmosphere and social interaction to the residents. In this apartment, about two hundred square meters of area free of machines is available to the residents.

Installations

Although drought has not yet affected cities in northern Iran, this huge issue has long started in Iran and possibly in the future it will also grip Rasht. To deal with this problem and achieve sustainable architecture and constant water supply, our attention in the design of the project has been on two major points:

First, it’s the storage of rainwater. In the yard, reservoirs were built to collect rain water from the roof to be directed for use (washing cars for instance).

Second, it’s the water storage tanks on the roof, in order to ensure a steady flow of water during power outages and drought. It is also an anticipated solution to deal with water rationing in the future.