In this issue of Spurling Design Newsletter,
I’m featuring a beautiful structure set in Tehran, the Tabiat Bridge. It was conceived by woman architect. It leads pedestrians and cyclists over a major highway to a nature preserve. March being Women’s History Month and a month of a new war in Iran, places it in the forefront of my mind.
Will bridges like the Tabiat Bridge, which bring people together, survive this war?
Taking walks, when such questions and many others race in my mind, helps. The sun still rises each day, our air is fresh (not stinging with burning chemicals), and the beauty around us always astounds me. The picture above comes from one of these walks. We are so fortunate to live here!
I’m also featuring in this issue a former project that gave new life to an old structure. I called it a heart transplant because the hearth was the heart of homes. And I’m praying and expecting that what gets destroyed in these times can one day be rebuilt.
Tabiat Bridge (Nature Bridge), Tehran, Iran
An organic exterior suits the calming feeling on the Tabiat Bridge (Nature Bridge) in Tehran, Iran. Iranian architect Leila Araghian designed the bridge as a gathering place where people could spend time, rather than just cross over it. At 26 years old, she designed the third symbol of Tehran.
Late in 2014, the 270-meter Nature Bridge was born. Pedestrians and bicyclists take breaks to enjoy the lush flower life and stunning views. The bridge has three layers: one for a cafe gallery; another for walking, running and biking; and a third for viewing the highway and Alborz mountains, according to RealIran.org. The multi-level design encourages visitors to linger. The young architect purposefully designed three tree-like columns to blend with the surrounding natural wonders. The curved body offers visitors different perspectives, creating a sense of mystery about the destination and inspiring users to continue exploring.
Araghian, the designer, is herself a symbolic bridge between eastern and western cultures: She earned a master of architecture degree from the University of British Columbia. The Tabiat Bridge won three awards in Iran and The Popular Choice prize in the Highways and Bridges category of Architizerís 2015 A+ Awards.
Heart Transplant
The existing Cranberry Island Church Parsonage sat very close to ground level which exposed it to excess moisture. Curiously, the foundation was really two parallel stone walls: the outer wall had been laid like a dry well and was crumbling; the inner wall was stone masonry, still sound. This caused the house to sag toward its exterior walls. A massive structure of three central fireplaces was caving into the cellar. It had been held aloft by cedar logs spanning two rock walls for 150 years. Now the logs were succumbing to moisture and the weight of the fireplaces.
Sadly, the foundation and the fireplaces had to go to save the house. The fireplaces displaced so much space that only an extremely steep stair behind them led to the second floor. We decided the house needed a “heart transplant.”
We demolished the “heart” of the house — the fireplaces and chimney — then lifted the house off its foundation, moving it aside while we constructed a new concrete full basement foundation.
The house breathed a sigh of relief to be on a square, level, secure foundation. This foundation raised the house above grade 2 feet to avoid moisture issues. We gave it a “new heart” replacing the central fireplaces with a wide chimney and hearth for a wood stove, placing niches in the chimney wall for curios. A new code compliant stair wraps around the heart to a new bedroom wing atop the existing single story kitchen.
Insulating exterior walls and installing a vapor barrier completed the new life of this 150- year-old cape.
