Overview

BaaT project is a 3-block residential house in the area of Baabdat. The brief requires an integration of 2 main summer houses and a guest house within a plot of 1700 sqm. The blocks are situated on the peripheries overlooking a central forest-like landscape with a common pool and tree house.

Location

The 55-meter-long site is bounded by 2 streets with an 18-meter level difference between them. The steepness of the topography and the abundance of trees renders the site as a pine forest overlooking the Metn Valley.

Perspectives

The reception areas are placed as light structure elements sitting on the stone terraces. These boxes are covered with folding wooden shutters filtering light into the living space. When open, the interior becomes an extension of the forest blurring the lines between the house and its surroundings.

Concept

In an attempt to preserve the existing pine forest on site, the project is discreetly placed on the site’s edge with a minimal impact on the environment. It is conceived as a series of stone platforms integrated in the landscape and reminiscent of the Lebanese ‘Jall’. Responding to the site’s steep terrain, those platforms are connected through series of interior and exterior staircases allowing a flexible flow between the residents of every block. The building thus serves as a vertical circulation element connecting the lower street to the upper one and providing a private entrance for every block.