Lavasan Villa

This villa is located on a steep hilly property in the affluent town of
Lavasan, only 30 minutes from Central Tehran, Iran. The site offers
views of Jajrood River basin, one of the main sources of water for
Tehran Metropolitan region. This river is located in the southern part
of the central Alborz mountain range. The view of these majestic
mountains and the Jajrood River makes this place magical and
memorable.

One arrives to the site at the bottom of the steep hill. A 30’ stone
retaining wall of the next-door neighboring villa marks one side of the
property line. On top of the Hill, above the property, are a series of
postmodern and traditional McMansions lined-up shamelessly in a row
next to one another competing in volume, vulgarity & visibility.
The challenge of this project was to create a simple villa embedded in
the topography that met the owners desire for privacy (Islamic tradition
of not being seen by public in the private quarters,) while taking
advantage of the surrounding views (seeing & enjoying the distant
natural elements & views.)

The program was to create a main villa including: a master bedroom
suite, two children bedrooms, a family/TV hall, terraces, living, dining,
kitchen, playroom, large outdoor/indoor space & a swimming pool. In
addition to the main villa, an independent guesthouse was designed
including: one bedroom, living/dining area, and kitchen. Also included
are a caretaker’s house, garage, and additional parking spaces for 4-6
guests. The neighboring lot has a grassy field/garden and a pavilion/
tea-room. In order to engage the views of the mountains & the river the
main spaces needed to be on the higher elevations of the site some 3
or 4 stories above the arrival area which required an elegant staircase
& an elevator to take one to different levels.

Conceptually the main villa takes the form of a sculpture on top of the
hill. The volume of the guesthouse & the caretaker’s house is broken
down into different parts and carved into the hillside. A three-story
structure creates a base for the main villa above continuing the next door
neighbor’s 30’ wall. This base volume includes the garage, entry
veranda, exterior stair, an elevator and a duplex guesthouse. Above the
guesthouse is a platform for the pool and main villa only partially visible
from the street.