We used lattice panels for all the walls and the facade. On the three sides — east, west, and the partition wall separating the two apartments — we used Evablock, or Sipurex, which is 20 centimeters thick. Evablock is sold under various trade names; it offers a degree of acoustic insulation and serves as thermal insulation as well. In the remaining partitions, we used lattice panels for up to 99 percent of the work. All related details were executed with precision, and we secured every wall to the ceiling and floor with rebar. Shotcrete was applied over the panels, followed by plaster screeding — altogether an expensive system. However, using lattice panels on the facade facilitated the installation of the facade bricks. Both rows of facade bricks were hooked onto the mesh and grouted. In effect, the bricks are structurally engaged with the facade. Here, the bricks are custom-made, double the standard height. Another matter is how we dealt with the 45-degree setback regulation. The question of the 45-degree chamfer is a fascinating subject in itself and could be the topic of a research project. How one responds to this regulation matters a great deal. Instead of a chamfer, I introduced a break on both sides of the facade. Among other interesting details here is the type of roof insulation. We tested the roof insulation in winter. There was snow on the roof. We heated from below, but the warmth did not rise and the snow did not melt. The ventilation system here is also different. The mechanical system uses a package unit. Sewage is connected to the municipal sewer system. In the electrical system, we numbered every wire. In the structural part of the building, too, certain refinements had to be observed. We bent the ends of all the rebar at a 135-degree angle inward in the columns, because the rebar ends must be engaged within the concrete. Otherwise, during an earthquake, the rebar would punch outward. The workers complained that the work was difficult and their hands were getting cut. To solve this problem, I devised a tool made from a pipe about 45 centimeters long, with a steel ring welded to the end, fashioned into a lever that allowed them to bend the rebar with ease. The ceiling work was completed in two days by two workers at minimal cost. If this step is skipped merely to save a few thousand tomans in extra expenses, the ceiling will develop problems during an earthquake. The tool I described is used only on this construction site and has no equivalent anywhere else. In your buildings, there is a logical and functional reason behind every element. This compels us to seek the functional logic behind each of your choices. You frequently place brick and concrete side by side on the facade. You execute concrete very cleanly and have a particular method for installing brick. Given that residential scale is a small scale from the perspective of urban facade, what is your logic in combining two or more materials? Given your mastery of these materials, why have you not built a monolithic brick or concrete building? Monolithic unity, in my view, is not all that important. In a monolithic building, volumes become the dominant concern. When concrete frames brick — a hard material encasing a softer one — that, to me, is better. The proportional balance between the two is also very important. I do not favor monolithicism in residential buildings. But for a bank, I might choose concrete, because it is hard and resistant, and conveys a sense of protection. A residential building should possess a gentle spirit, and therefore brick can be used in it. In many contemporary buildings around the world that are executed very cleanly, the details have no outward expression — they are, one might say, invisible. In the Mercedes-Benz Museum, for example, the floor, walls, stairs, and ceiling are all seamless, clad in resinous materials. There are no joints, and instead of details, it is the architectural space itself that asserts its presence, and the play of light, surface, and color catches the eye. In your work, the details on the facade or in the interior spaces are entirely prominent. In your opinion, what should the scale of details be? The type of detailing depends entirely on the technology of a given country. I have seen the film of the Mercedes-Benz Museum. I believe there was a ramped stairway. You felt as though those spaces did not belong to that building. Where there is no need, one can forgo details. This gives you freedom and ease, leads to the formation of other ideas, and ultimately influences your architecture and your decision-making. Poor execution of details in a building is considered a weakness. Here we are compelled to strike a middle ground. Personally, I do not like to conceal details. When details exist, why should they be hidden? If there is a joint, well, I let it be visible enough to assert itself and make its presence known. In your view, could formulating standards for building details — whether related to technical matters or architectural details — and adhering to them help improve the current state of buildings? For instance, the way a building connects to its neighboring buildings, or how the north and south facades, which have been thoughtfully designed, connect to the east and west facades, which are generally bare cement walls. I built this building as an independent structure, like the adjacent buildings. I would have loved it if a beautiful building stood next to mine, so that I would have been compelled to take it into account and consider what its architect had done, so that by standing beside it I would not diminish its worth. Unfortunately, that is not possible. Because the variety is too great and there are no constraints. You can see that the situation is utterly chaotic and the buildings have no unity or connection — as though there were a competition in which everyone must build the most bizarre things. Not that we should respect one another's work, elevate each other, create unity, and within that unity produce variety, and create something distinctive. One of the things you encounter the moment you enter the building is the 50-centimeter sidewalk. They slope the sidewalk and you have to lift your feet to cross. No one has the right to slope the sidewalk — meaning one should not encroach beyond the building line. But you can see that this is not the case, and consequently there is a strange chaos. Well, there are no regulations, and the municipality does not supervise. Regulations may impose certain requirements on form or material selection, but they have little effect on architectural culture. One must also work on culture in order to achieve results. I recall our teacher, Kamran Diba, saying that when Le Corbusier built Chandigarh in India, Indian culture did not accept it, and Chandigarh could not change the culture of the people. He cited this example to say that one must build culture and work on every dimension. Details in a Work by Georges Darche Habibeh Majdabadi A five-story residential building with 10 units Georges Darche's recent work was recently built with 2,000 square meters of built area on a plot of 1,000 square meters to the north. To allow the units to benefit from direct north and south light, this building has 1,000 square meters less built area than permitted by the municipality. As a result, the two ground-floor units have private courtyards on the north side. The facade is a combination of colored concrete and red brick. The open expansion joints on both sides of the building separate it from the adjacent buildings (Figure 1). According to Darche, the expansion joint — which is mandated as a regulation to prevent the transfer of seismic force — can be used to generate electricity. In expansion joints, air flows from below upward, and by placing a turbine at the highest point of the building, one could generate electricity, although he says this project did not afford the opportunity for such an undertaking. Upon entering the building, the details in the courtyard wall, the sidewalk, the car entrance and exit ramp, and the covered entrance deserve attention. The exterior wall in the middle section is brick, with a row of cavities in which lights have been installed to illuminate the sidewalk at night. The lights turn on automatically as dusk falls. A drip edge has been provided only for the middle section, which is brick. The concrete section above does not need a drip edge, since rain produces the beautiful color of wet concrete (Figure 2). At the bottom of the wall, there is a row of open spaces that establishes a visual connection between the lane and the courtyard. Darche says he wanted to arouse the curiosity of passersby without allowing them to see inside the courtyard, while at the same time the feet of passersby can be seen from inside the courtyard, so that it does not feel oppressive like a prison. Additionally, barberry bushes are planted behind the wall and can be seen from the lane. This thorny plant also serves as a kind of barrier, while softening the wall. A reinforced concrete beam supports the load of the wall (Figure 2). The pedestrian path is stone, flanked on both sides by concrete. Framing the stone path with concrete helps ensure that if the sidewalk is damaged, the concrete sections remain intact and the stone section can be easily repaired. The boundary between the sidewalk and the street is a concrete planter running the length of the sidewalk. The junction between this sidewalk and the neighboring house's sidewalk is a sloped step that reduces the level difference and eases passage. The edge of the step, which takes the footfall, has a metal nosing to protect it from wear. The car ramp, at the point where it meets the pedestrian path, is interrupted and leveled so that
no disruption is caused to pedestrian movement. Another advantage of the break in the ramp is the reduction of car speed when entering and exiting the building. Its side edges are triangular chamfers that prevent the car wheel from suddenly falling off the ramp. The cross-section of the drainage channel at the bottom is rounded so that debris does not get trapped and cleaning is easy. The entrance is covered, but this sloped canopy is open where the car passage is and where a roof is not needed, and a portion of the building's facade is visible through this opening. Both sides also have glass roofing on account of the pedestrian entrance and the mailbox. Darche says that in spring, the fragrant clusters of wisteria blossoms will hang down from outside the entrance canopy (Figure 3). Darche knows and selects his plants, and he designs many details based on their presence. The architect's affection for plants and his meticulousness in choosing flowers and greenery set the courtyard space apart. The plants have been selected so that the courtyard remains green even in the cold season. On the wall directly opposite the pedestrian entrance, there is a lattice brickwork panel designed for passionflower vines to emerge from behind the brick screen. In another corner of the courtyard, where the gas meter is located, Darche has designed a suspended pergola with simple details, made from iron profiles attached to the wall with copper cables, to accommodate rose and red trumpet flower vines. This simple pergola conceals the meter and gas pipes. On the courtyard floor, there are openings for planting flowers and draining surface water. Darche says that given the water shortage, he has tried to minimize the garden area. The concrete planters are irrigated in an ingenious way through a PVC pipe embedded inside the planter. The lower sections of the pipe have been drilled with holes, and the surrounding area is filled with pebbles. Water poured into the pipe gradually seeps through the holes into the soil, and the tree roots are watered at depth as well. The interior courtyard wall is divided into concrete frames, with brickwork executed in the intervals between these frames. In this way, none of the bricks are cut in half (Figure 4). The courtyard fountain was designed by Darche's brother, the renowned sculptor. In this fountain, unlike other fountains, water falls from top to bottom. In Darche's view, the descent of water is more calming (Figure 5). The pedestrian path in the courtyard intersects with the wheelchair ramp and divides the slope into two sections, so that the person with a disability does not feel their path is entirely separate, and also so that the ramp appears shorter (Figure 6). Upon entering the building, there is a mirror facing the courtyard that reflects the image of the plants. This mirror is mounted on the wall behind the elevator, which overlooks the courtyard (Figure 7). On the parking walls, hollow brick lends a particular warmth to the parking space while also providing acoustic properties due to its hollow nature. The divisions on the parking ceiling, combining plaster alongside cement, visually reduce the length of the parking area. At the far end of the parking, natural light enters through a skylight and is reflected onto the brick wall, creating a space distinctly different from an ordinary parking garage (Figures 8 and 9). In the interior spaces of the residential units, details have been observed for the comfort and well-being of the residents that are rarely seen elsewhere. In the bathroom, there is a small bench for the elderly to sit on. The kitchen has a separate worktable. On the top floor, which has no ceiling height restriction, the possibility of creating a mezzanine in one of the rooms, as well as a skylight, has been utilized. The possibility of a skylight exists only on the top floors, and despite the quality it brings to a space, architects readily forgo it. The principle that Darche observes in juxtaposing materials is the creation of a void — an empty gap. This principle particularly helps in executing modular materials such as brick and ceramic as complete modules. This void also exists at the boundary of the building's components. For example, the kitchen counter is set with a gap on both sides from the wall, or the bedroom wardrobes have a gap between them and the ceiling. In the children's room, the wall is partial and does not reach the ceiling. In the changing room of the gymnasium located in the basement, two walls of the room do not meet, and an empty groove is left. Through this method, he separates elements, gives each its own independent identity, and frees himself from the necessity of connecting them.
Parisa Alimohammadi, Alireza Taghaboni Organization of Construction Engineering, Qazvin The original design of this project won first place in a competition organized in 2006 by the Organization of Construction Engineering of Qazvin Province, and was built with only minor modifications. The principal structure of this project consists of two interlocking rings. These rings are an abstract interpretation of the introverted courtyard-house typology that historically characterized the buildings of Qazvin. In this design, the rings that in the traditional model shaped the central courtyards of buildings within a horizontal system have been arranged vertically, at varying heights, and in relation to the exterior spaces. At the same time, this vertical composition is positioned on the site in such a way that the open urban landscape is placed before the building. The brick ring, which is more elongated and vertical, encloses the building's managerial spaces, while a concrete ring encloses its administrative spaces. The brick ring, which is raised off the ground, defines the building's main entrance portico. In the organization of the interior spaces, the ground and first floors are dedicated to clients and visitors, and have therefore been designed as expansive and open. The second floor, devoted to meetings of experts, specialized consultants, and the organization's board of directors, has been designed as semi-open using transparent dividers. Finally, the third floor is occupied by the assembly hall and its ancillary spaces. The building has been designed as a double-skin structure. The openings in the concrete skin express volumes subtracted from the wall plane with brick proportions. Through the application of a rational, grid-based system, the perforations on the facade have been positioned so as to express the systematic, scientific, and engineering character of the complex. The rings, like the traditional courtyard model in historic buildings, have been designed so that light enters either from within the courtyards or filters through the porous wall skins. Structure and Construction The structural system of this building consists of concrete shear walls on the perimeter and a beam-and-column frame skeleton. The shear walls employed have been modeled and designed in perforated form to satisfy the requirements of both interior spatial design and the building's exterior facade. For the construction of the perforated walls, special formwork was designed that opened in two sequential stages so as not to damage the voids. At the same time, since the particular shape of the formwork made vibration impossible, self-consolidating concrete (SCC) — a concrete that compacts under its own weight without the need for mechanical energy — was used in the casting operations. In the final stages of the project, the SCC formwork panels were installed on the walls of the building's assembly hall, so that in addition to their decorative and visual effect, as well as their acoustic function, they would remain as a memento of the building engineering profession within the edifice. Project •Client: Organization of Construction Engineering, Qazvin •Phase 2 associates: Manizheh Sani, Farideh Aghamohammadi •3D modeling: Rohollah Rasouli •Structural design: Vahid Gharekhani •Mechanical design: Abdolali Zarehpour, Hofar Esmaeili •Electrical design: Reza Habib •Construction manager: Habibollah Babaei •Structural Contractor: Javid Rah Co. •Finishing contractor: Ali Eftekhari •Photo: Ali Daghigh, Parham Taghiof •Total built area: 2,500 m2 •Start date: 2006 •Completion date: 2009
Basement Ground floor First floor Fourth floor & roof Third floor Second floor