News
Allies and Morrison rebuilds a war-torn central Beirut plot
Allies and Morrison’s redevelopment scheme for a one hectare site in central Beirut, Lebanon, is now under construction and scheduled to complete in 2015. T e scheme, District//S, is part of local urban regeneration company Solidere’s masterplan to rebuild the Lebanese capital, which was ravaged by civil war for 15 years until 1990. T e design, covering a total built-up area of 42,300m², comprises 106 family-sized apartments and eight penthouses, spread across 22 buildings. It features two courtyards and a central piazza. Alfredo Caraballo, project architect at the
practice, said: ‘All of the buildings are background [to the overall theme]. T ere are no prima donnas here, just a well-assembled chorus of buildings creating complex and rich spaces.’ T e scheme’s 360 balconies and 155 roof-top loggias aim to meet Beirut’s demands for al fresco living, while ‘clues from the surroundings’ and an ‘incredibly rational’ modelling technique crafted the vistas and alleyways. Caraballo’s seven-strong team worked for a year on the project. ‘T is is a thesis of a type of city, a city of the type in which we live,’ he said. Ground-fl oor retail units front the public realm and beneath the development are six storeys of underground parking. Merlin Fulcher
Above Section GG Far left Wooden models built by Alfredo Caraballo to simulate vistas in District//S Left Viewed from above, the scheme features private rooftop gardens with swimming pools and loggias Right The
piazza-fronting buildings feature oversized iroko wood shutters
08 aj 02.12.10
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