East Village Apartment Building in Lebanon by J.M.Bonfils and Associates

The East Village apartment building in Lebanon’s capital city (Beirut) is a mixed use, mid-rise development with a built up area of 8000 sqm comprising 13 double-volume loft units.

Designed by J.M.Bonfils & Associates, the building also features an art gallery, a rooftop swimming pool and a prominent vertical garden influenced by the now inaccessible public garden of the Electricite du Liban headquarters, built in the 60’s. The aim of the vertical garden is to reintroduce a more space-efficient vertical green space that the community could enjoy.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The concept consisted in lifting key contextual elements – traditional building material and Lebanese gardens – and revives them with contemporary interpretations. So conventional wood and dark stone found an unexpected contrast in vivid red metal, and space-efficient vertical gardens replaced their horizontal predecessors.

DRAWINGS AND RENDERS © J.M.BONFILS & ASSOCIATES

While it looks like a simple geometric shape from afar, the structure consists of three parallel slices each with a unique identity that’s revealed on approach. A contemporary art gallery occupies the ground floor to introduce a cultural and commercial element to the project.

East Village includes 13 loft units, each of the double height characteristic of the region: 10 duplexes, two penthouses and one simplex, its balcony framed by red metal. On the simplex’s terrace is a private bar that overlooks the pubs and lounges scattered across Gemayzeh and through Downtown, exposing a panoramic view of the city.

“East Village is a kind of suprematist composition playing with the paradoxical conditions of today and linking us to a kind of paradigm” – Jean Marc Bonfils

IMAGES COURTESY ARCHDAILY

PROJECT DETAILS

  • Architects: J.M.Bonfils and Associates
  • Location: Mar Mikhael, Bayrut, Lebanon
  • Architect in Charge: Jean-Marc Bonfils
  • Area: 8000 sqm
  • Project Year: 2015
  • Photographs: Kinan Mansour , Wael Khoury Photography, Chadi Younes
  • Manufacturers: Hunter Douglas Contract, Swisspearl, Exotica
  • Collaborators: Marwan Matta & Lea Ksayer
  • Structural Engineers: Rodolphe Mattar
  • M E P Engineers: Kamal Sioufi & Associates
  • Contractors: Kfoury Contracting & Engineering
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