VOID Residential Building / Studio Pousti

Text description provided by the architects. Through drastic renovations in about 4 decades, Tehran has grown from a city of infinite gardens with its single-family homes to a city of infinite apartment blocks. This significant lifestyle change that has taken place within the urban fabric has impacted on issues of shared ownership, privacy, security, territory, collective memory and most importantly the quality of living space. Tehran’s current plans are mostly built by developers, with the main criteria of ease of construction, convenience and cost, compromising spatial quality. This approach has shaped a metropolis with no contextual roots or stories to tell. This is the current cityscape of Tehran. The main challenge of the project is how architecture can represent alternative ways of living, addressing the transition from single-family homes to apartment buildings.

VOID+ is Maryam Pousti’s first residential project. It tries to offer an alternative to conventional models of habitation and dense urban living, which has resulted in closed building envelopes that have no dialogue with their context. VOID+ is located on an extremely narrow site and consists of 10 units on 5 floors. The striking feature of the project is an intimate void strategically carved into the north facade in an attempt to engage the building with its periphery. The mass of the void creates a vertical flow between the building’s skyline and its feet. The main entrance is determined by the specific moment when the verticality of the void changes into a horizontal plane that extends over 20 meters over the length of the building. This horizontal platform connects the street level with the backyard, allowing for communal activities in the neighbourhood.

The aim here is to redefine the building’s territory and to assimilate a single-family home that expands into its surroundings without the interference of tight boundaries. The building’s interior layouts reveal a deep structural and volumetric connection to the facade; a vocabulary used throughout the project. The juxtaposed volumes of the void offer playfulness through shifting perspectives and views, allowing the inner and outer boundaries to be experienced simultaneously. The hide-and-seek between inside and outside takes place through the interplay of fixed and empty, challenging notions of exposure and privacy. There are two units on each floor; making noise and privacy driving forces in the positioning of a rectangular stairwell, which acts as a buffer to prevent noise and direct visual contact between the units.

Each unit sits around an intimate balcony, which is experienced as a courtyard garden. There is an arrangement for materials and a hierarchy of finishes and textures, which celebrates the value of working with artisans. This is reflected in the combed horizontal cement pattern of the facade, which also serves as a rainwater conductor, keeping the building skin clean. Door handles, balustrades, lighting fixtures and cabinets are skilfully integrated into the architectural detailing of the building. The collaboration with creators from different backgrounds in this project reminds us that buildings are a product of intense involvement and time.