Located in a 480 m2 land on the north side of a 12 m wide street, Gandi Office Building hosts a holding company in Tehran. Considering the “infield” position of the building and the one-sided light capturing façade on the south, the aim of the design was to address the spatial and physical issue. The building organization was formed based on maximizing sunlight exposure, controlling south sunlight, as well as expanding greenspaces along with the working spaces to improve the quality of the atmosphere. The issue of organizing the volumetric mass in infield projects with a singular function was the subject of this design. A variety of voids penetrate into the building mass from different sides to: create greenspaces inside the project, define the boundary of spaces with different functions, as well as to create connection between the interior and exterior air as well as natural and artificial lighting. The penetrating voids in the solid mass are used to make the best use of the potentials of an infield project. The material idea of the project was formed based on using traditional handcraft methods to control south sunlight exposure. Handwoven panels made of wood sticks were used in between the glass layers to overcome this issue. The wood comes from mulberry branches in spring time, bringing a pleasant light and shadow effect inside the spaces. The idea here was to bring a sense of nature and to combine the rigid characteristics of an office environment with the organic feeling and the flexibility of handcrafted materials. The materials used in this project were selected based on the spatial characteristics of each space. In the voids, handmade bricks with silver sparkle glazing made by “Ehya” technique were used to enhance light reflection in these spaces. Another important factor affecting the material selection was to make use of the characteristics of the organic materials in each space. In other words, materials were used based on the amount and location of light, to enhance the atmosphere of each space in the project.





