At an altitude of 2,500 metres in the Alborz Mountains, just an hour north of Tehran, Iran, a structure defies traditional geometry and our very notion of what a mountain resort hotel should be. The Barin Ski Resort is, in part, a haven for skiers nestled among snow-capped peaks, near Shemshak, the country’s second most important ski resort. But no, it’s not simply a resort hotel; it’s also the embodiment of an empathetic architecture—a new kind of architecture, perhaps—born from a fluid, conscious, and almost whispered dialogue with nature.
The architecture firm RYRA Studio (by architects Abbas Riahi Fard and Farinaz Razavi Nikoo) faced a unique challenge when developer Mojtaba Tanha and Partners commissioned them in 2008. Starting with an existing structure, rectangular in plan and elevation, the architects were tasked with creating “a cosy and welcoming place” for young skiers, a building that would not be “indifferent about its surroundings.” The answer didn’t come from conventional architecture, but from observing the landscape and drawing inspiration from vernacular solutions. The igloos of the Arctic regions—an organic human response to a harsh, icy environment—and the fluid shapes sculpted by snow on the terrain served as models. Ultimately, the building had to be part of nature, not separate from it.
The result was the 10-story, 67-room ski resort that appears to be “windswept onto the mountainside.” This metamorphosis is even more striking on the interior. The design of each of the 67 units, ranging from 45 m² studios to 270 m² penthouses, transforms them into caves carved from blocks of ice. Their vaulted, igloo-like shape was technically achieved using horizontal layers of Corian panels—a homogeneous mixture of aluminium trihydrate and acrylic polymers—and MDF—Medium Density Fibreboard—laser-cut.
Thus, the spatial experience is defined by the continuity of organic forms. The corridors and rooms flow without straight angles, while the “pebble-shaped windows” frame spectacular views of the mountain range. The predominance of white, meanwhile, reinforces the metaphor of the humble snow that covers and unifies everything as it falls from the sky. Consequently, it is no longer a building that occupies a place, but rather one that seems to spring from it.
Sources: Iranian Architect, Teenyabode, RYRA Studio (IG), Uniq Hotels.
Images: Parham Taghioff via RYRA Studio, Iranian Architect and Uniq Hotels.
