University of Balamand DEK Campus Extension, an Innovative Teaching Hub

The project aims to expand the existing campus of the University of Balamand in Beirut to gather three schools under one roof. The new university hub, right off of the Boulevard Emile Edde, will become a strong urban benchmark in the region.

The new campus seamlessly connects to the existing facilities through a sloped entrance platform, engaging the students, the teachers and the collaborators towards the university central core. The cafeteria, an open-air amphitheater and other spaces for relaxation coalesce around the central court in the form of shading pergolas, bleachers and suspended walkways, developing interactions and creating new informal spaces to meet and work.

On the Boulevard Emille Edde, the façade relation to the adjoining buildings fosters the integration of the new university into the urban fabric. A translucent skin made of corrugated and perforated white aluminum wraps around the West façade and redirects the focus towards the heart of the project. It reveals the vertical circulations and creates a serene and inspiring environment inside the learning laboratories bathed in soft light.

The opposite elevation slightly shifts North to minimize direct sunlight exposure. The fully glazed front revealing the activities taking place in its heart is shaded by climbing ivy. It opens out onto a wide suspended planter at the first floor acting as a “green lung” to the project and to the inner piazza, creating continuity and flow throughout the existing campus.

Winning Competition Entry.