Village House

Location: Gouron, Iran

2020 to present- Residential Project

The village of Gouron in Qeshm Island, is experiencing a decline in the use of traditional techniques. Unsustainable and imported building materials like concrete blocks are replacing the traditional stone and wood. Sarooj, a water-resistant lime-based mortar that was used in the Island for centuries, has been replaced by cement for more than fifty years now.

We were approached by a young family who were interested to explore traditional building techniques and were also looking for a contemporary look for their house with a limited budget. Our aim is to set an example for the village to encourage the locals to revitalize traditional techniques and create a sense of pride in local architecture.

When we started working on the projects, all the walls were already built with cement block. Our first strategy was to replace the structural walls with traditional stone and clay masonry, to respond better to the hot and humid climate of Gouron, stands extreme seismic activities, and re-brand out-dated building techniques.

We have also gathered information from local masons about production process of Sarooj and are in the process of prototyping the mortar for water-proofing the walls. The detailing is creating a dialogue between wet-stacked stone walls and traditional woodwork techniques and is re-interpreting the local house layout of Gouron to accommodate for a modern family.

Credits:

Design Team: Yasaman Esmaili, Saba Robati

Previous Contributors: Ronak Arjouni