35-51 Architecture Office (Hamid Abbasloo, Abbas Yaghooti, Neda Adiban Rad) — Outdoor–Indoor Living in a Cold Climate
Climate, topography and landscape diagrams. The Trombe wall, the long ramp and the cantilevered patio cover are the three design moves that set this villa apart from a typical solution on a sloping site.
Dasht-e-Chehel Villa is an experiment in reaching an outdoor–indoor life in a cold climate: how can one stand outside the building and experience snow and rain yet remain sheltered; how can one be inside and still not lose the secure sensory, visual and psychological connection with the outside; how can the boundary between inside and outside be made fainter still, on the way toward greater freedom.
Site plan. The villa sits at the south end of an elongated north-south plot (50 m × 20 m), opening its main views toward the mountains in the north.
At the start of design, the elongation of the site along the north–south axis (50 m × 20 m) made it possible to spread the building's footprint along the same line, so as to create a greater sense of proximity to the northern landscape.
Concept model. A wooden block expresses the central design move — a diagonal cut along the length of the building that brings the northern view into the depth of the interior.Basement floor plan: mechanical room and store.Ground floor plan: living room, kitchen, indoor garden, ramp, wooden seating, outdoor seating, jacuzzi, wooden deck, vestibule and fireplace.First floor plan: bedrooms arranged off the ramp.Second floor plan: bedroom, kitchen, breakfast room, terrace, living room, stair, the gable pool and fireplace.
A diagonal cut was then made along the length of the building. Beyond bringing the northern view into the depth of the interior, this cut shaped a roof over the site so that human presence — during snow or rain, or in the gentle warmth of midday (while remaining sheltered from direct sun) — would not be confined to the interior, and could extend deeper into the site.
Longitudinal section through the site. The interior ramp threads through every level, weaving together living room, bedrooms, greenhouse, pool and the outdoor terraces, jacuzzi and fireplace.
On the southern side of the volume, a glazed enclosure with a thick stone wall set behind it and openings above and below — the so-called Trombe wall — allows the thermal energy radiated during the day to be stored and used to heat the building at night.
Finally, by avoiding the flattening or stepping of the site (the usual response to sloping ground), the horizontal and vertical access paths were turned into ramps, so that a soft, easy movement throughout the project would strengthen the sense of freedom.
Top-down view of the roof. A long white gable encloses the swim space; the skylight above it doubles as the floor of the upper pool.Summer aerial view. The villa occupies the south end of the long site, with the bare slopes of Damavand rising behind.Side elevation. The gabled white form cantilevers out at the north over a wood-clad patio.Distant view. The rooftop skylight and the small greenhouse rise above the long white volume.Underside of the cantilever. The wood ceiling of the patio cover continues the warm interior surface into the open air.Top-down view. The pool sits inside the gable above; the circular jacuzzi is set into the wooden deck below.Front view. A triangular glass gable opens the upper pool to the mountain view, with the cantilevered wood-clad terrace below.Twilight view from beneath the cantilever. The sunken patio is sheltered by the projecting upper volume.After the rain. The wooden patio extends out beneath the cantilever; a rainbow rises behind the line of newly planted trees.Patio cover. The wood ceiling carries a circular cutout that opens straight up to the underside of the rooftop pool.Front facade. The white form frames the gabled green-tinted glass volume of the upper pool.The sunken patio from above. The wooden deck and circular jacuzzi sit inside a gravel garden, sheltered between volumes.Looking up from the patio. The deep cantilever opens to the sky between the two stone-clad volumes.Front approach. The gabled volume above the cantilever, seen between newly planted cypresses.Looking straight up. The underside of the gable and the strip of the rooftop pool against a clouded sky.White exterior. A small skylight box rises from the roof; the wooden floor of the cantilevered patio is visible at the foot of the wall.Side view of the greenhouse. A tall glazed enclosure rises against the gabled white volume — the southern facade where the Trombe wall is integrated.Inside the greenhouse. Bamboo planters line the wall above a stone fireplace; the glass envelope captures the southern sun.Side of the greenhouse. The stone retaining wall meets the glazed envelope; yellow marigolds bloom along the boundary.Indoor garden. A bamboo plant frames the view out to the stone wall and the marigolds beyond.Greenhouse corner. The stone wall meets the glass, with newly planted poplars rising in line outside.Stone corridor. A rough-stone pavement leads through the heart of the house, with daylight filtering down from the glazed roof.Looking up. The stone-clad wall rises to meet the wood deck of the upper floor and the glass roof beyond.Stone-clad interior. The gentle ramp leads upward between rough stone walls.Ramp detail. The angled white wall surface tracks the slope of the interior ramp.Indoor stone alley. Bamboo plants stand against the stone wall; a wooden bench runs along the opposite side.From the ramp to the exterior. A rectangular window cuts the stone wall; the indoor bamboo greens the foreground.Snowy day inside the gallery. The wood-clad inner wall looks out through the glazed gallery onto fresh snow.Bedroom corridor. The stone wall is punctured with two windows onto the indoor garden, with the door to the next room at the end.Attic ramp. The corridor narrows under the sloped ceiling, with the wood-clad wall on one side, ending in the triangular pool window.Empty attic. A skylight at the side and a triangular gable window frame the view down to the village and the foothills.Bedroom under the gable. A wood-clad mezzanine loft tucks into the gable, reached by a slim wooden ladder.Bedroom interior. A low table and floor cushions sit beneath the wood-clad gable, with a triangular skylight cut above.Wood-clad balcony. A small window opens onto a planter box of trailing greenery.Pool at night. A figure stands silhouetted against the gable window, with the lights of Damavand twinkling beyond.Swimming at night. A swimmer crosses the pool while the city lights of Damavand spread out through the gable window.From outside, at night. The rooftop pool glows from above the dark cantilever, with the silhouette of a swimmer visible through the glass floor.Snow aerial. From above, the long white roof disappears into the snow; only the skylight and chimney remain visible.Distant view in snow. The foothills of Damavand are buried under fresh snow behind the scattered houses.Snowy day. The villa sits low in the middle ground; the orchards behind disappear under fresh snow.Snow panorama. The villa and its orchard plot sit within the broader snowy fabric of Damavand.Snowy night. The lit gable holds its own against the surrounding snow; the city of Damavand sparkles below.Glowing window. The triangular pool window glows teal in the snowy night.Distant night. From far away, only the small lit cantilever of the villa stands out in the snowy plain.Entrance at twilight. Ground-level lights line the cobblestone entrance path; the under-cantilever glows warmly at the far end.Damavand plain in snow. The villa is just visible at the corner of the wide snowy panorama.Aerial in snow. The ridge of the gable roof emerges through the snow; the skylight reveals a thin band of pool below.Snow exterior. The white form fades into the snowy mountainside; the wooden interior under the cantilever glows warm in the cold.Snow cantilever. The deep cantilever projects over the stone retaining wall; its wooden underside glows orange.Front view in snow. The gabled glass volume frames a green core; the snowy village stretches behind.Snow patio. A figure in a red sweater and a small dog approach the steaming jacuzzi.Jacuzzi in winter fog. Submerged in warm water, the figure looks out through the fog onto a snow-covered landscape.Snow balcony. A figure stands at the glass-railed balcony, looking out over the snowy village below.Skylight rimmed with snow. From above, the warm wood frame of the pool is visible through the glazed gable.Looking out from the patio. A woman in red sits on the wooden chair, watching the misty mountains beyond the jacuzzi.Night gathering. Three figures gather around the lit jacuzzi beneath the warm wooden cantilever.Indoor pool in winter. A swimmer crosses the lane while the snowy village stretches out through the triangular gable window.
