Tehran - Iran
Client: Women social rehabilitating (NGO)
Project associates: Ali Ghoroghi - Hamid Karami - Sara Mohammadi
Supervision : Mohadeseh Younessi
Construction: Majid Zamani - Ali Ghoroghi - Mohadeseh Younesi
Photo: Hamed Touri Karami - Hamid Touri Karami
Special Thanks to : Dr. Shervin Kamali - Arash Tabibzadeh Nouri
Renovation From A residential Building To a Kitchen
Area: 530 m2
“Aabaan Women’s Catering” is a “Women social rehabilitating” project in 13 Aabaan district in the city of Rey. The founders of this establishment began their activities back in early 1990s within the limited scope of the neighborhood. After two decades of efforts and development of their business assisted by an NGO Charity, they finally became able to buy an old property in close proximity of the local market which could facilitate the daily maintenance of supplies.
13 Aabaan borough is located in Tehran municipality’s 20th district which was built around early 1960s in order to settle migrants living in slums in uniform 84 sqm lots. Gypsies, migrants from Nahavand, Arak, Tuyserkan and Afghans as well as old inhabitants of the borough form its current social fabric. Considering the area’s nature and history, it contains sever and seemingly accepted problems.
After an invitation from Women’s Rehabilitating NGO to transform this residential building into a “Kitchen”, MAAN Architecture Studio started their work. Two parallel approaches were defined regarding two different areas of the project: First, encountering an isolated building and fulfilling its basic needs with a very modest budget. And second, the impact of the building in a larger scale such as townscape. In a social context where visual pollution was part of everyday life, a white façade was the manifestation of a protest against the current situation, an act of purification that sought to have an impact beyond the physical boundaries of the building. But a third aspect which revealed itself during the design process was the analogy of working women in such social fabric with the impact of the building’s manifested puritanism. The team tried to propose an alternative way of living and presence for women in such a problematic context.
The interior remodeling was formed in multiple stages: from basic requirements (e.g. sewage, water, gas and HVAC, roof insulation and natural light as well as meeting the hygiene codes and standards required by authorities) to aesthetic aspects of design. The former consumed the principal part of the total budget which was less than 8000 USD. The design team tried to apply a strategic management approach in order to stay within the limited available resources while following strict priorities. Time schedule was another issue to tackle: the whole process of design and remodeling had to be done in 60 days which favored easy and fast methods. On the other hand, the 50 year old masonry structure of the building made any interference difficult. In order to empower the local workforce many of them were hired during the construction. At the initial stage of negotiations, the client was not interested in transforming the facade and the demands didn’t exceed the basic needs. But during the design process, the significance of spatial qualities of an economical, efficient and aesthetically satisfying architecture convinced the client to change the façade. Surprisingly other inhabitants of the neighborhood considered a similar solution for their properties and discussed it with the team. The design team have prepared a proposal for remodeling and improving the facades of other old single story houses of the area in order to increase the social participation and sense of belonging.
The plan is based on three layers: the first one is the office area where activities like orders, customer services, accounting and sales management take place. This layer is in direct connection to the entrance and separates the clients from the food preparation area which has more strict hygiene codes. But at the same time a visual contact became possible through an opening to the cooking area. The second layer is service area which includes restrooms and a locker room. The third is working area in which food preparation and cooking take place. The focal point of this area is the “desk” designed in the middle of the space that provides everyone a quick access to it with a slight turn to kitchen triangle, i.e. gas cooker, washing sinks and the fridge. The openings in the ceiling provide the space with more natural light and minimize the use of artificial light. It also works as a chimney for natural ventilation and proved to be a more sustainable and more economical solution. Having the openings on both north and south walls provides the building with cross ventilation too.
In this project the design team aimed at facilitating social change with minimum costs through empowering women and celebrating their presence as productive members of society. This modest example of local development seeks to increase social participation and sense of belonging.
Design: Majid Zamani - Mohadeseh Younesi
Client: Women social rehabilitating (NGO)
Project associates: Ali Ghoroghi - Hamid Karami - Sara Mohammadi
Supervision : Mohadeseh Younessi
Construction: Majid Zamani - Ali Ghoroghi - Mohadeseh Younesi
Photo: Hamed Touri Karami - Hamid Touri Karami
Special Thanks to : Dr. Shervin Kamali - Arash Tabibzadeh Nouri
Renovation From A residential Building To a Kitchen
Area: 530 m2