UNFOLDED COMMUNITY

karla abou khalil

The main element of interest in this study is the path from Armenia Street through the Vendome stairs, up until the site located at the end of Younes Gebaily Street. This experience exposes the wanderer to a continuity of gathering/interaction spaces all along the path, varying in the category or number of people they host, and in their public to private aspect as the main street branches, unfolding therefore smaller hidden communities –in the servitudes, evoking a sense of belonging to a whole at any stage. The main design intention was to replicate this experience by bringing the street in, creating an internal space in which interaction is continuous and maximized, while maintaining the relationship to the street and the public. This was translated into two aspects: an aligned façade ensuring the continuity on the parallel side, and an internal courtyard, unfolding a new realm. Two separate aspects, where the entrances are the only points offering a sense of both simultaneously. Once inside, the placement of the different spaces is decided based on a public to private system, in accordance with the levels of the structure itself. Public spaces are placed on the GF, reflecting their activities onto the street through galleries, contributing in its whole, and inviting the public in, while shared facilities between the residents and residential units occupy upper floors. Yet, all of these are interconnected, due to corridors surrounding the internal courtyard, condensing the circulation and the interactions, as an imitation of La Borda’s “Corrolas” typology.  Each of the 13 residential units is divided into two parts, each occupied by one student, sharing one central common space with their roommate, with a connection back to the street, belonging back to the neighborhood. 

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