Nestle Social Block by guillermo hevia

The building is crowned by a suspended roof, facades with a double-skin, the additional multiuse water pond serves as fire-water standby and cooling system through evaporation for the sun exposed facades in the hot period.

The double-skin, made out of corten steel, which wraps around the building, create an avant-garde image. Constructed as a continuous surface, it protects against the solar radiation and due to its separation to the building, it creates a vertical Venturi ventilation, supplying temperated air on account of the evaporation of the surrounding pond. This metallic double skin consists out of different perforation treatments, plain sheets and black glass.

The corten steel is a meterial which oxidates in a short term period, in order to create its own protection, neutralizing its deterioration. Engender the image of a living organizm, which changes its tonality (orange ocher, brown) in time and furthermore by the different angle of the sunbeams and changing daylight. It contrasts with the in sight concrete walls and the black metal of the roof. The rhythm of the designed standart-sheets breaks the monotony of the plane suspended surface and has been systematically illuminated to strengthen the night image of the building.

The Orange Cube by macfarlane architects

The project is designed as a simple orthogonal « cube » into which a giant hole is carved, responding to necessities of light, air movement and views. This hole creates a void, piercing the building horizontally from the river side inwards and upwards through the roof terrace.

It is designed on a regular framework (29 x 33m) made of concrete pillars on 5 levels. A light facade, with seemingly random openings is completed by another facade, pierced with pixilated patterns that accompany the movement of the river. The orange color refers to lead paint, an industrial color often used for harbor zones.

In order to create the void, designers worked with a series of volumetric perturbations, linked to the subtraction of three “conic” volumes disposed on three levels: the angle of the facade, the roof and the level of the entry. These perturbations generate spaces and relations between the building, its users, the site and the light supply, inside a common office program.

USJ Campus by 109 architectes

This campus takes a contextual approach, integrating physically, culturally, and historically with Beirut’s urban tissue. Conceptually an urban block with sculpted voids, the building’s hollow spaces define six autonomous blocks and construct multiple viewpoints across Beirut, connecting students to their dynamic setting.

Light is a vital element in oriental architecture and one that shapes its style and identity; the campus exposes alternate light qualities through Moucharabieh-inspired perforations and a polycarbonate volume. Such manipulation presents a striking contrast in filtered light and luminescence.

A stylized random-opening treatment is a snapshot of the Lebanese War, lending a poetic glimpse into the reality of destruction and violence.