DAM-MAD Villa
Inhabiting the Forest
2018, Beirut, Lebanon
BUILT UP AREA 2,500 sq.m
Set high in the hills north of Beirut, in a pine-forested part of Rabieh, DAM-MAD Villa is suspended above the horizon via a 16x18-meter double structural cantilever, allowing the surrounding landscape to virtually enter into the living space.
DAM-MAD Villa covers four floors, with the main living area set on what would be considered the ground floor, complete with a reception space, outdoor pool and double-height internal garden occupying half of the surface area. This level functions as a social and structural anchor, connecting to the basement parking level via a series of large green pocket gardens, and to the bedrooms on the two upper floors, where nature is most present. On the upper levels, the space transforms into multiple and private micro-villas with secret gardens that seamlessly connect with the surrounding forest

 

Set high in the hills north of Beirut, in a pine-forested part of Rabieh, DAM-MAD Villa is suspended above the horizon via a 16x18-meter double structural cantilever, allowing the surrounding landscape to virtually enter into the living space. 

DAM-MAD Villa covers four floors, with the main living area set on what would be considered the ground floor, complete with a reception space, outdoor pool and double-height internal garden occupying half of the surface area. This level functions as a social and structural anchor, connecting to the basement parking level via a series of large green pocket gardens, and to the bedrooms on the two upper floors, where nature is most present. On the upper levels, the space transforms into multiple and private micro-villas with secret gardens that seamlessly connect with the surrounding forest.

The Mediterranean forest into which DAM-MAD Villa is built is both celebrated and reclaimed by the manmade structure. The concept behind the home is to actually tame the existing landscape and reinterpret it into three different worlds: the public space, the semi-private space and the personal space. At the same time, the boundaries between the natural and the manmade become blurred, giving the home’s residents flexibility and allowing their lifestyle to evolve according to their personal needs and to the changing seasons.

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Anastasia Elrouss Architects
Architectural Consultant
Nabil G Hennaoui
Structural Consultant
WTA-Wissam Tawil & Associates
Electromechanical Consultant
Pslab
Lighting Consultant
Ghassan Feghali
Concrete Contractor
Ana-Marti Baron
Landscape consultants
DIAGRAMS & MODELS
During the process of concept design evolution and technical coordination, a multitude of models were developed
During the process of concept design evolution and technical coordination, a multitude of models were developed to test the integration of the project within its context and the large cantilever relationship with the secret gardens and the appropriated gardens. In addition, diagrammatic sections and axonometric were used to test the hierarchy between internal and external spaces in relationship to the intimacy of the inhabitant. 

Since MAD Villa is a custom-made structure, the models allowed a clear vision of the power between structural techniques and architectural expression, where the architecture and the landscape appropriated the structure to become one entity. The proportion of the volume is very important as well in terms of the human scale and the territory scale, so models from 1:100 to 1:50 were developed to test the impact of this intervention.

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DRAWINGS
Every type of drawing illustrates one face of the villa, and all together they form a multifaceted structure that is in conversation with the surroundings, the inhabitant and the environment. 
Every type of drawing illustrates one face of the villa, and all together they form a multifaceted structure that is in conversation with the surroundings, the inhabitant and the environment. Sections illustrate the power of the public and private Mediterranean forest intrusion onto the internal and external spaces of the villa, altering the spatial hierarchy into a customized way of living. Plans express the fluidity of the experience and the possibilities to sometimes transform open spaces into having many programmatic utilities, while at other times keeping the intimate spaces drawn to the minute detail. Between sections and plans, the forest draws two extremes with respect to its context: fluid public spaces linked to each other mostly embedded in nature and private intimate cocoons with secret activities suspended over the horizon and the forest.

RELATED News

  • German Design Awards
    DAM-MAD villa in Beirut won the German Design Awards 2019 with a special mention in the category of Architecture. Click here
    08 February 2019
  • Kon Textur
    Kon textur magazine interview about our architectural journey and practice. Click here
    02 February 2019
  • Iconic Award 2018: Innovative Architecture
    DAM-MAD villa in Beirut won the Iconic Award 2018: Innovative Architecture - Best of Best in the category CONCEPT with distinction. Click here
    08 October 2018

RELATED Videos

  • ICONIC AWARDS 2018: Innovative Architecture – Award ceremony
    At the Iconic Awards, held in October 2018 in Munich, Anastasia Elrouss Architects’ design for the DAM Villa was honored with the prize for Innovative Architecture – Best of Best, in the category Concept with distinction. The Iconic Awards reward holistic projects in the fields of architecture, product design and brand communication.
    08 October 2018