Residential No. 18 By FAAM Office

Residential No. 18, designed by FAAM Office in Shiraz, Iran, is a contemporary apartment building defined by a powerful architectural concept: continuity. Rather than relying on a singular sculptural gesture, the project explores continuity through the repetition and multiplication of one of architecture’s most fundamental elements, the wall. This strategy creates a cohesive spatial experience that seamlessly connects the exterior façade, interior spaces, and vertical circulation from the entrance level to the roof garden.

Architecture of Continuity: A Basalt Narrative

Basalt Walls as Structure, Skin, and Space-Maker

The identity of Residential No. 18 is shaped by thick, monolithic walls composed of vertically arranged basalt stone ingots. These pure, solid walls form the architectural language of the building, extending across the façade, penetrating into the interior, and ultimately shaping the skyline. Carefully cut and articulated, the walls align precisely with the architectural plans, façade layers, and structural system, resulting in a refined synthesis of form, function, and construction.

Within these basalt walls, structural elements and façade columns are concealed, allowing the building to maintain a clean, uninterrupted visual presence. The separation between the walls enables controlled penetration of natural light, framing exterior views while ensuring privacy and climatic comfort. As these walls extend deeper into the plan, they naturally organize interior zones, defining circulation paths and indoor arenas without relying on excessive partitions.

Balcony as a Spatial Mediator

One of the project’s most distinctive features is its reinterpretation of the balcony. Rather than functioning as a conventional appendage, the balcony becomes a critical spatial mediator between the exterior and interior. Designed as a transparent, glass-like volume, it dissolves the rigid boundary traditionally separating eastern and western bedrooms.

This generous balcony introduces abundant daylight and panoramic views into both private bedrooms and shared family living areas. A centrally placed shrub enhances the sensory experience, reinforcing a subtle connection to nature and creating a calm, contemplative focal point within the domestic environment.

Spatial Organization and Interior Warmth

Along the central axis of the house, extending from the northern balcony inward, the living room and kitchen are strategically positioned. Their proportions and spatial relationships respond directly to the rhythm and scale of the basalt wall segments, ensuring architectural coherence throughout the plan.

The influence of these walls continues across all shared and transitional spaces, including the lobby, parking area, backyard, staircases, and roof garden. Despite the dominance of stone, each space retains its own identity, with materials used independently yet harmoniously.

Inside the apartments, the cold, neutral tones of basalt are balanced by the warmth of elm wood, used extensively in furniture, closets, and cabinetry. This material contrast creates a welcoming interior atmosphere, emphasizing tactility, comfort, and human scale while reinforcing the project’s architectural clarity.

A Unified Architectural Experience

Residential No. 18 stands as a thoughtful exploration of materiality, repetition, and spatial continuity. Through its disciplined use of basalt walls and refined integration of light, structure, and nature, FAAM Office delivers a residential project that is both robust and intimate, an architecture shaped not by excess, but by precision and restraint.

All the photographs are works of Arash Akhtaran