EILKHANEH

2nd Place (shared), Apartment Buildings — 14th Memar Award

Eilkhaneh is a four-story apartment comprising three residential units for three families of the same extended family. The project site is bordered to the north by the "Todeli" parcel, accessed from the street via a narrow alley to the west. To the east lies a plot whose depth equals the combined depth of Eilkhaneh's plot and its northern neighbor, meaning the eastern neighbor's building projection falls behind the buildable boundary. Thus, physically, Eilkhaneh is a building with four facades, yet by urban regulations, only the southern facade has the right to create openings for light.

In terms of typology, Eilkhaneh is an infill apartment with four facades: the southern facade's recesses create a series of semi-open spaces, so most interior spaces look toward these green pockets rather than the street. On portions of the facade, a semi-transparent, porous skin — consisting of a metal framework with brick cladding, sometimes movable — allows for positional changes in the southern skin regarding views and light.

On the northern wall, which serves only as a view toward the "Todeli" property, green apertures provide both scenery and indirect light for Eilkhaneh. On the western wall, along the "Todeli" access alley, a continuous gap enables overall indirect light for the building. Meanwhile, the deep interior spaces receive lateral light from small apertures in the western wall. The southeast corner design, with physical setbacks, provides indirect access to the eastern view within municipal regulations that prohibit direct eastward views.

The building's section is designed as a series of continuous folded surfaces and discontinuous suspended surfaces. The folds in section enable parts of vertical surfaces to become inhabitable. Additionally, the entire western wall interior is designed as a collection of niches sized to everyday objects, transforming this vertical surface into a habitable one. The staircase, through indirect lighting from north and west and the northern wall's green pockets, becomes a desirable social interaction space for the resident families, drawing from the spatial system of courtyard houses.