Overview

Responding to the irregularity of the plot boundaries and its setbacks, the design of this contemporary house was conceived as a fracture in the morphology of the terrain, like tectonic plates bursting up to create a faceted roof structure housing a crystalline glass form. Bowing down to meet the land upon approach, the house becomes almost invisible to the public road. As it gradually lifts up from the ground surface, it opens up to embrace its vantage point on the cliff edge, and floats like a low cloud drifting through the mountainside brush.

Location

Overlooking the Metn Valley and the rolling mountains surrounding it, the cadastral limits of the plot irregularly straddle a Cliffside landscape of rock and vegetation- offering panoramic views toward Beirut and the Mediterranean sea.

Perspectives

An exterior promenade cascades from the entrance (road) level down to the lowest lying garden, flirting with platforms and vegetation, offering different vistas and engagements for an emotional appreciation of this magnificent landscape.

Concept

Catering to the client brief, the house was conceived with two circulation sequences in mind. The private and semi private family spaces are across the upper platforms, with vertical elements offering different transparencies interrupting their faceted glass façade. Whilst the formal reception and entertaining spaces are afforded a grander volume, in their cavernous concrete and stone expanse with overwhelming transparency towards the sublime view of the valley.

Diagrams