Cloaked in Bricks

Without using mortar, Studio Admun renovated this Tehran facade taking inspiration from Iranian vernacular architecture – where privacy is a must – combining parametric design and traditional brick construction.

Studio Admun Design was asked to improve an existing building façade, combining together new technologies and traditional features. During the last decades Tehran population has grown enormously, increasing dramatically the demand for housing, leading to the development of vertical growth. This new contemporary buildings, though, seem to be in contrast with Iranian lifestyle, where privacy is a must.

A key characteristic of Iranian vernacular residential architecture is providing privacy. In the past this feature was achieved through an introverted architecture often built around a central private garden with all the openings oriented to that and the windows rarely exposed on the outer faces. In the contemporary residential architecture, on contrary, windows are opened to the public passage, resulting in balconies covered by opaque materials blocking view from the opposite buildings.

The architects had to face the strict building codes of Tehran and produce a design that addressed its users’ needs and re-conceptualized vernacular precedents to create a unique building. To provide maximum privacy yet fulfilling other features such as moderating light, limiting view from outside, organizing chaotic experience of the terraces and decreasing high-traffic neighborhood noise, the solution seemed to be covering the architectural mass in a grid of openings. Brick appeared to be a proper choice since it has always been used as a local building material in Iran meeting environmental needs while creating numerous aesthetically beautiful textures.

The concept for the facade is inspired from the surrounding neighborhood fabric. The brick texture is a reflection of the context’s chaotic skyline and the openings are positioned in order to show or hide specific views. Rotating the bricks provided the opportunity to have various degrees of openings and the rotation angles are precisely adjusted through a dialogue between inside and outside considering sun direction, daylight and level of distraction from the across apartments.

The complex form of the facade, the limited construction period and economical conditions forced the project team to search for a new construction method, which consisted in eliminating mortar by punching the bricks. Parametric design software facilitated the texture design process and, despite the complex form of the facade, the construction process was easily executable by workers through simple instructions put together by a system of coding.