- Project: Villa Number 75
- Architect: 3rd skin Architects
- Location: Iran, Tehran
- Year: 2020
- Area: 1200 m2
- Photography: Deed Studio, Persia Photography Centre
Located in Tehran, Iran, Villa Number 75 by 3rd Skin Architects is a bold reinterpretation of residential design, completed in 2020. Spanning 12,916 square feet, the villa is a striking architectural composition where voids, light, and spatial experience take precedence over traditional forms. By emphasizing transparency and permeability, the design blurs the boundaries between interior and exterior, making nature and seasonal changes central to the living experience.
Architecture Through Subtraction
The villa’s design is guided by the principle of subtraction and aggregation of pure masses. Rather than prioritizing enclosed volumes, the architects shaped the house around interconnected voids. These empty spaces serve as key architectural elements, functioning as courtyards, vestibules, balconies, and terraces that structure the flow of daily life.
Through this strategy, the design prioritizes perception and atmosphere over conventional massing. Deep shadows, framed sky views, and layered terraces create ever-changing visual and spatial experiences, engaging residents with their environment in dynamic ways.
Transparency and Connection to Nature
Transparency lies at the core of the villa’s identity. By strategically positioning voids and openings, the architects eliminated barriers between inside and outside, allowing landscape and light to filter through the residence. Large terraces and ceiling openings introduce natural light into multiple levels, framing vistas that shift throughout the day and seasons.
The villa is oriented north–south, optimizing solar exposure while preserving the site’s existing trees. This orientation not only enhances daylighting but also ensures natural shading and cooling, contributing to environmental comfort.
Program and Materiality
The project is organized into clusters of volumes, each defined by voids and gabion walls that establish a tactile, grounded relationship with the landscape. The program includes:
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Ground level: hall, dining area, kitchen, guest rooms, and recreational spaces.
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Upper level: four bedrooms, oriented east–west, connected by two vertical circulation cores.
Gabion walls at the entrance combine functionality with material honesty, forming the caretaker’s villa, outdoor kitchen, and covered parking. These natural stone-filled walls echo the rugged materiality of the site while establishing harmony between structure and environment.
A Villa of Light and Shadows
The broad ceilings and layered terraces produce deep, shifting shadows that animate the villa throughout the day. These architectural moves elevate everyday living into a sensory experience—framing the sky, softening the sunlight, and creating protected outdoor spaces.
Ultimately, Villa Number 75 is more than a luxury residence; it is a spatial exploration of voids and transparency, where architecture becomes a framework for light, shadow, and seasonal change.
