- Architects: Ravagh Atelier
- Area: 300 m²
- Year: 2016
- Lead Architect: Padideh Azin
- Construction And Restoration: Mohsen Shahi
- City: Kashan
- Country: Iran
Design Philosophy
The goal of Azin Historical House was to create a getaway and gathering spot for family and friends. It was a conservation and refurbishment project to breathe fresh life into a natural and graceful setting. This project began with a thought of keeping a calm and subtle material palette. The initial and the purest of idea was to create spaces that are thermally soothing and visually pleasing. The best place for this excellent task was in Kashan’s ancient town, 240 kilometres south of Tehran. A severe earthquake that struck the city in 1778 during the Safavid dynasty destroyed much of the town’s old buildings.
However, the Azin Historical House site has subsequently been employed in several other capacities, most notably as a dye factory with Qajari features. The renovation’s objectives included bringing back the incredible grandeur of the historic building and creating a modern, minimalist room that could be used as a single-family home.
The Azin Historical House, offers the opportunity to have a huge living room in contrast to Kashan’s conventional dwellings. Making the most of this chance required the removal of distracting elements, followed by creating a seamless space that could be utilised as a living room, complete with a modern kitchen and spacious, open sitting and dining spaces. The primary bedroom and guest rooms were also constructed using other spacious areas of the former factory. These bedrooms are nicely tucked into the corner ends, and the central core portion is dedicated to living room space.
An Historical House’s primary living area, which is double height, gives the interior a warm feeling. It turns into the ideal location for family gatherings. Given the muted nature of the internal surroundings, the colour scheme in this area is quite earthy and neutral.
Material and Construction
The Azin Historical House is made of clay bricks, and each wall’s thickness varies from 1 to 3 feet. Stone columns act as structural supports for the thick brick walls. The thick walls act as an atmosphere barrier and help insulate the indoors well. One feels comfortable staying inside a palace in this kind of indoor environment. Lime plaster is used to finish the walls to provide a cooling effect indoors. A small piece of the walls is also completed with exposed brick to create a historic look. To maintain the inside of Azin Historical House well-lit throughout the day, skylights are installed above each of the bays that stretch across the vaults. Cobblestone pavement is used inside flooring to provide consumers with a tactile and textural experience. To increase the cooling impact of evaporation, there is a water body in the middle.
Sustainability
A project is said to be sustainable when every element used on site is efficiently transferred and executed on site. The materials significantly reduce the Azin Historical House’s carbon impact, promoting sustainability. Until nightfall, the Azin Historical House does not need any electrical appliances for lighting or cooling. This building was refurbished with the end user’s need for thermal comfort. There is no question that the consumers’ psychological health would benefit from this type of atmosphere. The colour palette plays a significant role in the visual sense of the Azin Historical House. The upper level openings enable the house to naturally cool with the stack ventilation cooling phenomena. The existing floor levels help the passive cooling effect to be enhanced for the Azin Historical House.
Key takeaways
The Azin Historical House is used as a standard for the project’s refurbishment, innovation, and sustainability. Without losing its charm and feel, it illustrates the rebirth of the old viewpoint with a contemporary combination. An excellent case study of the hot and dry climate is the Azin Historical House. Inside the Azin Historical House, artificial ventilation is not necessary. The living area is kept in the centre of the rooms, while the private areas are marked on top and bottom, respectively. The earthy pastel colour scheme of the materials reflects the incoming natural light and preserves interior air quality. The Azin Historical House portrays a blend of contemporary approaches and maintains the traditional charm. This is the beauty of the Azin Historical House. The designers respected the overall context and history of this building and sensitively responded to it, keeping in mind the end users and their usability for each space. This Azin historical house demonstrates that any project which is to be renovated and designed needs to be totally user oriented and the lifestyle he will have to possess in those spaces. Spaces can either create positive impact or a negative impact on the color palette used so therefore these spaces should be a combination of negative or positive elements combined together.
Citations
1) “Azin Historical House / Ravagh Atelier” 29 Sep 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed 19 Nov 2022. <https://www.archdaily.com/969237/azin-historical-house-ravagh-atelier> ISSN 0719-8884
