Located in Mar Mikhael, framed within narrow streets and buildings, lies a compound with a coffee shop. While the interior belongs to the domain of dwelling, the exterior belongs to the surrounding context yet protects the interior from the city. It is no longer only a boundary that separates, it becomes the boundary that encloses the volume, for the interior to develop freely within.
Physically separated yet visually connected via frames and voids, theatre boxes are created inside each volume, overlooking the internal social spaces. Inhabitants become actors and spectators, involved yet detached from their own space. These theatre boxes created become a device providing protection and drawing attention to itself. The voyeurs in these boxes become the object of another one’s gaze, caught in the action of looking, entrapped in the moment of control. The project frames the viewer, the interior spaces, and the surrounding context, creating a harmony between the users, the spaces created and the existing.