Contemporary Architecture

Works of Tohid Ahadi and Bernard Derow

Tohid Ahadi, Bernard Derow·Memar 15
01

1. Vacation House Complex

Aerial view of the vacation house complex, showing the geometric volumes nestled into the hillside terrain

Geometric Concept of the Project:

In two-dimensional space, superimposing two rectangles on each other, where one is rotated several degrees relative to the other, and within the area resulting from the difference of the two overlapping rectangles, the location for the three-dimensional volume is obtained.

In three-dimensional space, placing a rectangular cuboid volume conforming to the slope of the terrain within the footprint derived from the rotation of two rectangles in two-dimensional space, where part of it has virtually sunk into the ground.

Result: A residential space for vacations, on three levels, with a hierarchy from top to bottom:

Third Level: Entrance, service areas, and bedroom
Second Level: Living room and kitchen
First Level: Bedroom and guest accommodation, parking, and workshop

Close-up of the triangular geometric volume emerging from the hillside
The vacation house seen from a distance against the mountain landscape
Night view — the illuminated interior reveals the full geometry of the triangular form
02

2. Vizheh Graphic Building, Tehran

Project Data

Client: Vizheh Graphic Company

Design & Construction: Tohid Ahadi, Bernard Derow

Structural Engineer: Mohammad Reza Ameri

Location: Tehran, Khorramshahr Street, Niloufar Street, Third Alley, No. 19

Year of Construction: 1378 SH (1999)

The front facade of the Vizheh Graphic Building on Khorramshahr Street, Tehran

Objectives: Making maximum use of the site’s capacity based on the client’s needs and based on the physical constraints of the project, and finding a solution for regulating the vertical circulation, were among the design objectives — such that the user of the first floor would consider the main staircase and have two floors ahead of them.

The position of the site within the neighborhood is among the factors that have influenced the building’s exterior facades. On the northern side, the adjacency to the neighborhood’s internal park and the green and pleasant atmosphere of the park inspired the use of soft curved surfaces alongside flat surfaces in the interior and exterior design. On the southern side, the adjacency to conventional residential units of the neighborhood necessitated unity in the facade and order in the fenestration.

Detail of the soft curved surfaces on the northern facade, inspired by the adjacent park
Night facade — dramatic lighting accentuates the interplay of curved and flat surfaces
Interior view — the circular skylight floods the central space with natural light
The spiral staircase — the central element regulating vertical circulation across floors
Memar Magazine
Iranian Bimonthly on Architecture and Urban Design · Issue 15 · Winter 1380 / January 2002

Related in Architecture Database