Kashan House, Iran, 2019

Typically these introverted Persian houses enclose a central courtyard – often with a reflecting water pool which ‘doubles’ the gardens –that connects most of the internal spaces. The water level arriving from the aqueducts determines the level of the pool –the vital heart of the house – which then defines the level of the lowest, more temperature-stable spaces set within the earth. Massive clay adobe and brick walls provide the architectural material that mitigates seasonal temperatures, remaining cool in summer and warm in winter. Enclosed and independent rooms open to the main courtyard and intermediate semi-open spaces. The orientation and design of the courtyard ensures they are partially shaded during the summer yet catch the winter sunlight, creating a benign microclimate.

These buildings present a true grasp of sustainability. Moreover, they must be a delight to live in because of the interplay between inside and outside; spaces for winter and summer living, enclosed spaces and vistas, and the way the architecture frames views.

The concept of ‘self’ in Persian thought is quite different from western notions, lying somewhere deep within (bāṭin) whereas ours tends towards the outside (zāhir). Kashan’s architecture expresses the same philosophy: simple, massive, unadorned surfaces outside, and refined, delicate embellishments inside. Important to the overall composition and detailing of these houses is this balance between gravitas – the darker passive adobe-clad external forms – and levitas – the lighter, more active stucco-finished interior walls and shimmering glass screens. This house is a particularly beautiful exemplar.

In temperate zones we perhaps forget how our perception of spaces and surfaces can differ between sunlight and moonlight, artificial light, and fire or candlelight. Walking through the spaces of this house, one experiences, phenomenologically, these inherent temporal qualities of light.

Manouchehri’s love of both tradition and innovation is evident in her selection of materials and craftsmanship. She has achieved a delightful harmony between the two in her contemporary interpretations of geometric patterns in the crafted glazed wood shutters and delicate stucco screens. One can be enthralled watching light revealed upon wall and floors, cutting through shadows yet leaving shadows in its wake, particularly as boundaries of walls and floor dissolve because the high-tech floor material is indiscernible from the plastered walls: a complete transcendent quality.

In our own age, to resist technology is foolish, but neither should we over-indulge the digital at the expense of nature’s non-linear beauty. This house is impeccably rooted in the concept of a totality of matter and mind; one that employs both to achieve a balance between nature’s inherent wisdom and man’s predilection for the new. It is a sublime work that sets a high benchmark for the restoration of the heart of Kashan.

© 2019 Ian Ritchie