SeeSaw
House
Sector
Single-Unit Residential Apartment
Location
Tehran, Iran
Year
2021
Design Team
Shift Process Practice
Role
Project Cooardinator, Design Team Head
Category
Design and Construction Project
SeeSaw House is an architectural exercise in creating a novel type of urban independent housing on very small-scale plots in the city of Tehran. Small-scale plots are defined as plots with an area of less than 100 square meters. Informally, in the contemporary redevelopment of Tehran, these types of plots are consolidated, and multi-unit residential apartments are constructed on larger plots resulting from this consolidation.
In the process of Tehran's transformation from a two-story city with independent residential units to a taller, five-story city with multi-unit apartment projects, the dream of many Tehran residents to own a city villa in contrast to living in apartment units has become unattainable.
In designing this house, the biggest challenge we faced was integrating a home across different levels while maintaining its coherence. These levels were connected through staircase landings provided with each half-floor, ensuring seamless connectivity throughout the entire space. In addition to all the amenities of a home such as a living room, kitchen, and two bedrooms equipped with a library and an office, this house also features a swimming pool.