Mount Damavand, a potentially active volcano, is the highest peak in Iran and the highest volcano in Asia. The closest town to this mount is also named after this majestic peak featuring folklore and cultural values for Iranians. Due to pleasant weather, clear skies, and scenic views of all kinds, neighboring areas to Damavand town have become an exceptional bucolic escape for residents of the capital. Being 60 kilometers from Tehran’s bustling environment, Damavand’s surroundings are filled with weekend houses, getaways, and cottages.
The Peak, designed by Nastaran Fadaee, is a two-story holiday house for a retired couple who wants to spend most of their time away from the hectic pace of Tehran finally. One additional building was designed as an extension to the main building after the structure of the main part of this residence had been erected. The extended part was designed due to the new necessity of having a swimming pool for Hydrotherapy purposes. Not being able to use the underground level of the main part, the architect designed a new part was to lie on the slope of the plot, right next to the existing structure, with some space and intact soil for a retaining wall between.
The architect’s brief was evolved around the clients’ ideas of having their children and grandchildren over, gardening, making the most of views of the meadow to the south and magnificent backdrop of Mount Damavand to the north. The architect was also asked to consider the house as a part of the environment, taking into account climate and surroundings technologically and formally.
In terms of the top view, the main volume was divided into three parts while inviting nature into itself. These three parts are gathered in a way that they are interconnected to create a central place inside and incorporate some stripes of the landscape in between.
When we look from the front to the elevations, profiles are representing the smooth transition of an architecture that grows from the ground. Slopping roofs as a climatic response, as well as partially protected from the east and the west, were the significant measures that influenced other parts of the design.
A standing seam black aluminum roof encompasses all horizontal surfaces as well as eastern and western walls. After covering these surfaces, aluminum panels get integrated with the grass panels of the landscape when they meet at the ground level. The conversion of aluminum panels to grass panels take place progressively and smoothly in a way the replace one another randomly and with an algorithm.
Arc and round corners increased the fluidity and smoothness of the volumes not only in the whole but also in window opening frames where they conform the same slopes and roof shapes harmoniously.
The home’s seamless integration of environmental systems defines landscape and architecture indispensably. As a result, the grass part at the foot of the building continues gradually to the garden in the plot.
Customized exhaust vent covers on the roof are exactly in sync with other parts. Other elements, namely window frames, and flooring, also have custom-made designs.
The interior design reflects what is regarded in the main design. Finishes are minimal, with a palette of white walls, black aluminum, a ting of sharp green representing vegetation in order to create a neutral yet elegant backdrop to family life.
