BATROUN RESIDENCE / CARLOS MOUBARAK ARCHITECT

The residence is located in Batroun, 50km north of Beirut, Lebanon, in the vicinity of this ancient coastal town that is quite representative of the traditional regional architecture. Positioned on a hill overlooking the shoreline and the old city, the site is a typical Mediterranean natural environment.

 

The design of this family house was hence the opportunity to rediscover the revitalizing relationship living spaces can share with nature and the subtle dialogue architecture can have with a landscape. It was less about building a house than inhabiting nature and fundamentally about the contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional domestic architecture by ultimately doing justice to the site and to the Mediterranean spirit.

 

The challenge was not only to preserve the existing landmarks and highlights but also to capture the place’s pervading spirit; because we believe that the utmost value of a piece of architecture within a landscape is to unveil the site’s genius loci.

Following a meticulous site survey, we have first outlined a potential area of intervention that would minimize the impact on the environment and make the most of the existing conditions.

 

The design intent was to maximize the outdoor spaces, to get the best vantage points, to enjoy the spectacular sunsets, to initiate interactions between the house’s entities, but also to accommodate the specific dynamics of the family while offering privacy for each of its members.

 

The residence is structured into two main entities drawing a T shape plan and connected by the entrance; the latter is hence always a transitional space from a sequential point of view.

The first entity is a single-storey 6.6m wide and 52m long rectangular box that includes the indoor parking, the services facilities and a single expansive space on a split level containing the dining and the reception areas extended by a covered terrace. The second entity develops partly on two storeys and is dedicated to the bedrooms.

  

The T shape layout defines two distinctive and contrasted outdoor spaces. On the east side, the mostly mineral courtyard generated by an excavation in the site becomes the opening sequence by which one accesses the residence. On the west side, a landscaped garden expands within the untamed nature and gently adapts to the site’s natural slope.

 

 

Type: Residential

Location: Batroun, Lebanon

Completion date: 2014

Built up area: 900 sqm

Architect: carlos moubarak architect

Landscape architect: Marie Salhab / MSLA

Lighting consultant: Joe Nacouzi / UNILUX

Photographs: Marc-Antoine Kikano