vaulted palm canopy shields dry stone guesthouse cluster in southeastern iran

Nedarag Community Guesthouse by NextOffice in Kahnanikash

Nedarag Guesthouse is a non-profit, community-based architectural project located in Kahnanikash, a Sunni-Baluch village in southeastern Baluchestan, Iran. Designed and constructed by NextOffice in close collaboration with local residents, the project introduces a small-scale guesthouse intended to support community-led tourism while reinforcing local building knowledge and social structures. The complex comprises three residential units containing five guest rooms, alongside a compact service block, all organized around a shaded central courtyard.

The courtyard operates as the spatial and social core of the project. In addition to providing circulation and passive cooling, it accommodates a range of daily and seasonal activities, including informal gatherings, children’s play, and traditional social practices such as women’s Chelim (hookah gatherings) and men’s Dikki. This shared open space allows the guesthouse to function simultaneously as visitor accommodation and as a communal setting integrated into village life.

all images by Ehsan Hajirasouliha unless stated otherwise

NextOffice Reinterprets Kapar Typology Through Canopy Design

The project is situated on donated land near agricultural fields, the village council building, and the home of a local host who previously accommodated travelers within his own residence. The site selection and planning were carried out collectively by village elders, residents, a social facilitator, and the design team. The spatial organization is centered on a semi-open courtyard shaded by a multilayered roof system that promotes airflow and reduces heat gain. This roof reinterprets the regional Kapar typology, traditionally constructed using palm elements, through the use of handmade timber trusses that support a wide, umbrella-like canopy.

Construction techniques draw directly from local practices and materials, including dry-stacked stone walls, palm-derived fibers, and earthen finishes. Thick stone walls provide thermal mass, while a double-layered roof and wall system reduces solar radiation and moderates interior temperatures. The vaulted canopy unifies the individual units into a single architectural ensemble, creating layered shade and protected outdoor space. Openings and roof assemblies are designed with double-skin strategies to improve thermal performance while maintaining permeability.

The architectural language emerges from the combination of vernacular construction and adaptive detailing. The contrast between the mass of stone walls and the lightness of the canopy, as well as the dialogue between curved roof forms and hand-built textures, reflects a layered approach in which new construction works with, rather than against, local building traditions. A mixed process of on-site fabrication and manual assembly allowed adjustments to be made throughout construction in response to material behavior and climatic conditions. Building systems rely primarily on passive environmental strategies. Night ventilation, courtyard airflow, thermal mass, and shading reduce reliance on mechanical cooling. Performance simulations indicate that the curved roof form lowers cooling energy demand compared to a standard cubic structure, while the removal of the canopy would significantly increase thermal loads. The raised construction and 1.5-meter-high stone walls provide protection against seasonal flash flooding, a condition tested during severe storms in 2023.

Nedarag Guesthouse adapts community-led architecture in a Sunni-Baluch village in southeastern Iran

built through collaborative construction, for Community Use

The construction process was fully collaborative and extended over several months. Village residents participated directly in wall construction, roof fabrication, and finishing works, while palm-fiber ropes, mats, and earthen plasters were produced locally. Women, elders, and children contributed through material preparation, weaving, cooking, and site organization, following the Baluchi tradition of hashar-o-madad, or collective voluntary labor. The overall construction cost remained significantly below conventional benchmarks, achieved through local sourcing, shared labor, and incremental building.

Today, Nedarag Guesthouse functions as both a visitor facility and a social anchor within the village. In addition to hosting guests, it supports local livelihoods through food production, crafts, and agriculture, and has contributed to further community-led initiatives related to tourism and economic diversification. Through its reliance on local materials, participatory construction, and passive climatic strategies, the project demonstrates how architectural design can support social infrastructure while remaining embedded in its environmental and cultural context.

planning decisions were developed collaboratively with local residents and elders

a semi-open courtyard anchors the spatial organization of the project

the guesthouse is organized as a small cluster around a shaded central courtyard

the courtyard functions as both circulation space and social gathering area

daily village activities unfold within the shared central courtyard

the guesthouse supports tourism while remaining embedded in local social life

a multilayered roof system provides shade and supports passive cooling

the roof reinterprets the regional Kapar typology using handmade timber trusses

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image by NextOffice

image by NextOffice

image by NextOffice

image by NextOffice

image by NextOffice

image by NextOffice

image by Neel Studio

image by Neel Studio

master plan

site plan

ground floor plan

section

wall section

project info:

name: Nedarag Guesthouse

architect: NextOffice

lead architect: Alireza Taghaboni

design team: Niloufar Ghobadi, Hadi Ale Davoud, Ali Ghods, Meysam Feizi, Shanbeh Dehghani, Abdullah Dehghani, Mozammal Nohani, Zalour Nohani, Akram Nohani, Abdulrahim Delvashzehi, Mehrdad Makaremi, Sattar Ganjalipour, Masoud Soufiani, Farzad Ferasat, Hadi Irani, Dorsa Sadeghi, Homa Asadi, Asal Karami, Marziyeh Norouzi, Ehsan Ahani

construction management: Residents of the Village (led by Shanbeh Dehghani), Hadi Ale-Davood

social facilitator: Roostatish, Mina Kamran
location: Baluchestan, Iran

photographers: Neel Studio, Ehsan Hajirasouliha, NextOffice

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom