about us.

inspiration.

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I can only attribute my love of creating and defining spaces to my childhood experiences. Growing up around Persian courtyard houses, I quickly developed a fascination with the interplay of space within these wonderful examples of residential architecture. Courtyard houses of the East are famous for their introverted series of interlocking rooms around an open central courtyard.

My fascination began as a child, playing and exploring these spaces. The infinite possibility to hide and seek in the light and shadows of these labyrinthine buildings and their many layers of interlocking spaces never ceased to excite me.

I was particularly captivated by the degree of public and private spaces within these buildings. The grand entertaining rooms; covered alcoves forming the interface between the indoor and the outdoor spaces; the cool semi-sunken cellars to seek refuge from the burning heat of the sun; the small secret, often winding spiral steps leading to the ‘forbidden’ flat roof terraces, which sometimes led to a secret room.

As a teenager in Scotland in the 90’s, these memories were reignited for me by M.C Escher’s ‘Relativity’. I found this illustration beguiling and strangely emotive. The stairs to a labyrinth-like series of spaces recaptured my imagination; motivating me to follow a path to becoming an architect and create spaces for life.

Today, in my design process, I try and bring that intrigue with different levels of privacy and the sense of hide and seek to the homes I design. I too believe that “our home provides us with our corner of the world” (Gaston Bachelard- Poetics of Space). Furthermore, I believe that our homes should cater for the different facets of our personality: just as the showman in us needs great entertaining areas, there are equally times when we need a space to hide away and nurture the bookworm in us. This is all achieved by designing a balance of public and private space, providing a stage but also a refuge; light but also quenching shade; a place to work but also to play.

I often embrace the concept of the courtyard house by interpreting the open courtyard as a central double-height atrium where accommodation is centred around it. On arrival, this is the most public part of the house, where light filters the house and guests are received. Thereafter, the sequence of spaces moves from formal entertaining spaces to more subdued, semi-private and private spaces.

In my tribute to the courtyard house the spaces that I design, try to take account of our innermost needs. A house will shelter our bodies but a well-designed 'home' will nurture our minds and souls.