IAAC Alumni to Build the Upcoming Mixed Use Destination in Beirut
No. 5 is the address for the upcoming mixed use destination in Beirut. The project is the brainchild of a collaboration of two of IAAC’s alumni entities, BAD. Built by Associative Data, whose founders are Ali Basbous and Luis Fraguada, and MARZ Studio, founded by Farshad Mahdizadeh and Hooman Talebi.
The complex will be located in the heart of Jnah in Beirut city, next to the prominent Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium. The design is driven by parametric studies, taking as parameters view orientations, solar radiation, wind infiltration, and building program, all in relation to the site’s difference in levels.
No. 5’s site lies at one of the busiest corners in the area, making the building very present and visible from the street level, hence the proposal’s pixelated massing. The strategy helps in the air’s infiltration, creating an inviting open plaza, where all the users from the retail shops and commerce activities meet.
Many computations were done to obtain the most efficient design and distribution of the building’s program. The ground floor is divided into two sub-levels, where all the restaurants and commercial activities are placed for ease of accessibility, taking advantage of the site’s inclination, moving from the upper street to the lower street level.
The program on the upper floors includes private offices and 52 spacious apartment units, varying from 120 to 250 sqm, with great flexibility in their dynamic layouts. The detailed massing approach ensures a striking design, reminding us of Jackson Pollock’s No. 5 inspirational masterpiece. It is where the physical space and voids are drizzled and smeared together in an intricate technique, creating a whole new and unconventional perspective into art and architecture.
