Farei Haft is a residential building composed of three units: the first floor contains a flat apartment, while the second and third floors house two duplex units—one to the north and one to the south. The ground and basement levels include a lobby, service and recreational spaces such as a gym, a swimming pool with its associated facilities, parking, storage rooms, and other auxiliary areas.

Design and Development Concept: Forming the Building Based on Context and Neighborhood Conditions

The project is located in Mehrshahr, where the connection between the building and the surrounding green and verdant environment is essential. As a result, Farei Haft is conceived as a porous mass, carved with courtyards and terraces. The layout and geometry of each void is shaped by the broader context and the immediate neighborhood.

In urban plots where depth is significant and street frontage is narrow, regulations require the inclusion of lightwells to ensure natural lighting and ventilation. The design engages with this regulation in a playful manner—it shifts part of the rear mass forward and connects them with a bridge over the newly created courtyard. This move eliminates the southern unit’s direct view over the courtyard, preserving privacy. More importantly, the courtyard provides southern light to the northern duplex unit, typically considered less desirable due to its orientation, and potentially turns it into the most valued unit in the building.

The design begins by slicing the mass and creating a two-story void that results in a multi-level courtyard. On the first floor, this courtyard breaks the elongated plan into two sequences—public spaces in one, and private ones in the other. The second level of the courtyard, as mentioned, serves as the central open space for the northern duplex. A planted vertical surface screens views between upper and lower levels, enhancing privacy.

Due to the narrow width of the façade, its potential for architectural expression is limited. However, the central courtyard becomes an opportunity to compensate. The northern and southern faces of this inner courtyard effectively act as two additional façades. Since these belong to the northern duplex and are not overlooked by neighbors, they allow for a fully transparent skin on the southern face of the courtyard. This strategy effectively triples the length of the “main façade,” two-thirds of which are now shifted into the more private internal sequences.