Batchay Villa

Location: Tabriz, Iran

Material: Cement, Straw, Wood

Site area: 1000m²

Built area: 30m²

Architect: Hassan Ebrahimi Asl

Design collaborator: Ebrahim Safdari

Studio: Rad-E-Khak Design Studio

Construction Operations: Hossein Abdullapour

Structural operation: Jalal Nezakat

Electrical facilities: Salman Davari

Mechanical facilities: Kheradmand facilities company

Supplier of wooden materials: Mohammad Hossein Ramgar

Photographer: Hassan Ebrahimi Asl

Story:

Text provided by the architect:

Batchay is a vernacular hut; which was built in the village quarter of the same name (Batchay), located 25 km from Tabriz, Iran. The project goal is to provide a hut for the residents who occasionally spend their time on the farm and among the trees and crops. 

The main controversial challenge of the project was: on the one hand; the modern demands of the users, on the other, the native look of the context and environment. At the outset of the project, the employer (user) wanted us to design a luxurious villa for him on this site, in other words, native architecture used to be a really boring and decrepit style in his eyes. But as an architect, we couldn’t frown upon the precious native context of the mentioned village quarter and its surroundings, so the mission started; “challenge between vernacular and modern architecture” …. 

We tried to give him different proposals, and finally, we persuaded him to let us draw the balance between tradition (vernacular architecture) and modern (his modern demands), and respond to both contextual limitations and requirements and his modern needs (a tremendous paradox). We separated the whole building into two component parts; the interior based upon modern theme and pragmatic functions, and the exterior with a traditional look harmonized with the vernacular look of the context and environment. Now we respond to both the traditional context of surroundings and the modern practical needs of users.

To sum up, in this project we tried to cope with the challengeable interaction between tradition and modernity, in other words we endeavored both to save and respect the identity in one way, and being up-dated and respect the modern lifestyles needs in the other way. The compatibility and interlocking relation between users and this place show us that we were prosperous; now the project employer tells us, “We couldn’t leave the Batchay and we are looking forward for every weekend to be present in this lovely place” …

The 2nd Villa Magazine Award - Winner of restoration category - with participant code VA-0203