The studio focuses on proposing and designing new ways of living within the current shifting era, where issues of protection and privacy, or dialog and interaction, seem to be at the heart of spatial investigations.
Located on a crossroad in the recently devastated area of Mar Mikhael near Beirut port, the main feature of the site is its triangular-shaped plan, with a wide north-south double exposure, while its eastern angle provides an unobstructed view towards the void in front of the premises.
Starting with a contextual approach to the site location, building condition after the blast and social-urban fabric, the early analysis develops into focused observations on various relationships between the context and the interior space. Other elements such as external noise or sun-path and wind-flow crossing through the spaces, are also used as design tools throughout the design process.
Within new set programs and personal narratives, students critically reevaluated the relationship between the spatial quality of the living spaces and the occupants’ performance, and proposed personal spatial solutions to the various problematics related to the occupants’ behavior and needs within new conditions and context.