Project
Zima house
Category
Best Project of Private Residence
About the project (provided by the applicant)
A House Where the Lemons Say Hello
In a quiet gated community near the forests of Royan—once a lush orchard filled with the scent of citrus—stood a piece of land, oddly shaped and full of challenges. This land became the beginning of a different kind of architectural story.
Where many might have arrived with bulldozers, we arrived with respect.
The land was filled with old trees—scattered, irregular, and not in places a “typical” plan would welcome.
But it was precisely this disorder that gave shape to our design logic.
We didn’t cut the trees.
We listened—to the land and its shadows.
And we shaped the house around the trees.
One tree passed right through the upper-floor terrace, casting its shadow gently across the rooftop.
Another—a young lemon tree—stood at the entrance veranda, becoming the house’s doorman, greeting each morning with fresh green leaves and a sharp, citrusy fragrance.
The orange and bitter orange trees nestled themselves between the walls and garde
Location
Royan, Mazandaran, Iran
Project design year
2023
Applicant
Javad Davoodi is an Iranian architect born in 1995 in Royan, Mazandaran. Focusing on vernacular and climate-responsive architecture, he has designed projects such as the Larma Apartment in northern Iran and the Baghchal Khaneh in Tabas.
Honors: Winner of the Iron Medal at the A’ Design Award 2022, an international competition held in Italy.
Winner of the Golden Prize (Gold Certificate) at the Golden Trezzini International Awards 2023 in Russia.
Author of the project
Javad Davoodi
Visualization
Hosein Sadeghi
Status of the project
Under construction
