CROSSARCHITECTURE Completes Villa Az-Boroun in Karaj, Iran

CROSSARCHITECTURE has completed Villa Az-Boroun, a 716 m² weekend house on two adjoining plots in Zafaranieh, on the western periphery of Karaj, Iran. The project, finished in 2024, was curated by Miwa Negoro, with Neel Studio responsible for photography. The design team was led by Mehrdad Makaremi, Maryam Golbarg and Mohsen Moghayedi, with Makaremi as principal architect. Structural engineering came from Afshin Masoudi, mechanical engineering from Farnood Ayeendar and electrical engineering from Vahid Ghasemi. Iman Zoji served as general contractor and Matin Shahpouri handled project management. Named for the Persian phrase meaning "from outside," the villa turns the boundary between house and garden into a deep spatial threshold: three stacked volumes form a thick frame, while two voids draw landscape, daylight, air and movement into the section. Commissioned as a weekend retreat with a lush garden, the elongated site borders gardens to the north and south, making continuity with the landscape central to the program. Rather than placing the house as an object within the garden, the design exploits the depth of the plot to fold the landscape into the spatial organization.