Turning Boxes Adapting Sharifi-ha House to the Climate Changes

Taghaboni completed the design and development of Sharifi-ha House, an innovative residence that can ingeniously adapt to the climate changes in Tehran, Iran. The is due to the displacement of turning boxes that lead the building’s volume to become open or closed, introverted or extroverted: “Here, the openness /closure of the building’s volume is a reference to traditional Iranian houses, which would dynamically serve as seasonal modes of habitation by offering both a Zemestan-Neshin (a winter living room) and Taabestan-Neshin (a summer living room) to their residents”. Uncertainty and flexibility lie at the heart of this project’s design concept.

According to the architects, the residence is distributed over seven floors: the two basement floors are allocated to family conviviality, fitness facilities, and wellness areas, while the ground floor hosts parking and housekeeping rooms. Public activities all happen on the first and second floors, and the family’s private life takes place on the third and fourth floors. The house adapts to the functional needs of its users. For instance, depending on whether there is a guest or not, the guest room (located on the second floor) can be reconfigured for different purposes. Similarly, home offices and breakfast rooms (turning rooms on the first and third floors) can change the formality of their appearance according to their residents’ desires. How would you comment on this new building trend in residential architecture ?