Plot # 4378 is the third development of its kind in the area. The project aims at providing non-typical working/ living lofts for the emerging creative scene in Beirut, and is strategically located at the proximity of the Beirut river (Corniche el Nahr), NBT railway station at the vicinity of the Damascus highway, the National Museum district and the intersection of the major east/west and north/south road networks of the city. The site consists of a 1675-square-meter lot in a developing industrial district. The area is undergoing major transformation and urban renewal, thus attracting alternative programs and activities. The “Beirut Art Center” on the adjacent plot is one of these new developments.
Building on the idea of the existing warehouse structure on-site, the developer proposes a program involving “industrial lofts”. These are residential or work studios for artists and artisans. The building has a ground floor with eight floors of duplexes above. The ground floor has four freestanding commercial pavilions. A strip of landings and elevators is accessible from an outdoor garden or a covered car passage/drop-off from the western to eastern orientation. Unlike typical building elevators where every landing is served by two elevators, here each elevator is double sided and feeds two separate landings on either side, creating a unique and personal experience. The strip holds five double-sided elevators serving 10 landings. Parallel to the strip is a glazed multipurpose room and a ramp leading to the underground parking levels.
64 duplex studios - 8 per floor - occupy the building. A single module comprises a one-bedroom apartment of 100 square meters. It can be merged with another module to form a two-bedroom of 200 square meters. The studios are fed from a balcony, which at times protrudes out into a covered platform spanning 5 meters. An exterior hallway (coursive) on the Northern façade acts as a longitudinal landscaped service landing for the freight elevator and staircase on that side. All studios have a double north-south orientation allowing for cross-ventilation.
