Glass boxes vertically stacked forming two columns lean against or are slightly inserted into a ‘wall’. The ‘wall’ acts as their supporting system while these cantilevered observatories of the city and seacoast form wave-like shapes in section achieving maximum views.

‘This centrally located residential tower takes inspiration from the urban form of Beirut. Situated near the Ring Highway that connects East and West Beirut, and overlooking the city center, Martyrs Square and the seacoast, this residential tower operates as an ‘observatory’, composed of a smoothly rising stack of glazed-unit apartments, offering diversity while simultaneously creating a sense of unity. The project resolves the opposite demands of maximizing space use based on the plot area, while providing variation in the different apartments.
Cantilevering balconies and terraces take their cue from the typology of the existing urban fabric of Beirut, transferring the previously horizontal spread into a vertical composition, with panoramic views of the city and the sea. Shading louvers protect from the excessive eastern and western exposure while adding privacy and providing an opportunity for a vertical ‘green’ screen that acts as a unifying element on the façade. This tower synthesizes between the complexity of details and programs, while avoiding the unnecessary display of architectural gymnastics, which have become a cliché of some contemporary works.’

ARCHITECT: Accent Design Group, Beirut, Lebanon. LOCATION: Beirut, Lebanon. LEAD ARCHITECT: Elie ABS. DESIGN TEAM: Charbel KARAM, Ahmad KHOUJA, Petia RATZOV. DESCRIPTION: residential. STATUS: Design Phase. AREA: 11,000 sqm. DATE: 2011. No part of this web site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Morfae and the copyright owner.