SMALLVILLE HOTEL / BEIRUT / LEBANON

Area Approx. 15000 m²
Commission 2008
Status Built
Client Beirut Homes Venture
Architect Nizar Sabbagh Architects
 

Badaro is a thriving area with intact physical memories from mid-century architecture of pre-war Beirut. Minutes away from the National Museum of Beirut, the project is located on the corner of Badaro's main street. Profiting from further height and exploitation exclusions, the Smallville hotel required an advanced experimental design process. Hard to find a harmony in the proposed scale, we aimed at creating a dialogue with the surrounding. The research process conducted the design to abide by the tripartite divisions of the era. Three layers were generated and translated into the project facade. A monolithic black base holding a frame of 13 slabs with blowing black ribbons as if sculptured by the wind and a rooftop that reminds us of the architecture of the Lebanese sixties’ typology.

Beirut, a city that owned a unique identity throughout the years with a direct and an unseen versatile multicultural wealth, pushes us to explore and understand its transformations. A city that never dies but transforms in contradicting manners. We aim to be part of a transformation that carries with it a memory of a golden past and reflects a vision of the future.

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