African Design Magazine December 2015 | Page 34

Providing the required gray colour and texture through cutting and juxtaposing unpolished granite stones, they generated a neutral formless façade that helps the visual relaxation of the alley in addition to decreasing the cost of the project. To reach the other goal, which was to create high-quality interior spaces, Ayeneh Office inserted some transparent volumes deeply into the façade, creating terraces on each floor. They are not in the typical continuous form on the façade, but rather in the form of transparent spaces positioned inside the other spaces of the project. Given the view to the outside and users’ need, terraces or yards appear in different formats while not situated on each other at different levels. They are either seen on the sides of the building or act as a functional element to separate kitchen from the guest hall, making a proper place for keeping plants or other subsidiary functions in the kitchen. In addition, the stone-made surfaces of the façade, together with the yards, go deeper into the interior space on some floors. The land of the project is slightly oriented to the west. In order to control the annoying sunlight of the west in the summer and to keep the privacy of the yards, Ayeneh Office created a movable wooden shell, the shape of which is in perfect harmony with the stone-made surface of the façade. It is capable of being opened or closed at different times to control the view and the stray lights. AD Click images to enlarge