Location  Jiyeh, Lebanon
Category  Residential
Accent DG  Architectural design
Lead Architect  Elie Abs
Project Team  Mira Alassaad, Roxanne Djaiji, Aline Fadous, Luana Mahfouz, Elie Mattar, Farah Nasri, Hassan Nassar
ADG Interiors  Interior design
Area  700 sqm
MEP Consultant  Wissam Tawil & associates
Structural Consultant  Jamil Toufic
Status  Completed
Client  Ibrahim Barraj, Esq.

Awards  Nominated for Aga Khan Award for Architecture

Photographs Mansour Dib

ARCHDAILY - "Jiyeh villa / Accent Design Group"
ARCHITECTURE LAB - "Jiyeh villa / Accent Design Group"
ARCHITIZER - "Jiyeh villa / Accent Design Group"
MORFAE - "Jiyeh villa / Accent Design Group"
DESIGNBOOM "Jiyeh villa / Accent Design Group"
WORLD ARCHITECTURE NEWS "Jiyeh villa / Accent Design Group"

 


Jiyeh Villa

This house is situated on the coastal beachtown of Jiyeh, south from Beirut. It can be described as an arrangement of four volumes, which are layered in a way to create a rhythmic composition. The alternating elements further invite the landscape to filter into the house, creating private courtyards for the residents. Each one of the four volumes functions separately, while their overall composition creates transitions between the public and private spaces of the project.

The sloping topography of the site invited the creation of cantilevered platforms over rectangular box shapes. The sloping landscape was playfully manipulated to embrace the villa, offering privacy from the neighboring buildings, as well as allowing access to the cantilevering terrace. The accessible terrace platform is a projection of the landscape beneath it. A thick, yet porous, U-shaped wall wraps around the land opening the view towards the sea. The façade of the building that looks onto the sea is completely transparent, while the side facades only provide glimpses of the exterior through perforations in the walls that recall traditional architecture in hot climates.