At an altitude of 1600m, surrounded by the peaks of Zaarour mountain, this villa’s site demanded a special sensitivity concerning orientation as it was to be erected on a desolated topography across the field.
At the request of the owners and following several assessments, it was agreed that the villa basic massing and style were to be conducted as per the traditional Lebanese mountain residences rather than embracing a modern approach.
Nevertheless, the aim was still spotted on providing a fresh look & even spirit to a mountain family house. Thus it was essential to focus on the structure, spaces, functions and gardens reinventing them to fit into today’s modern way of life.
The formal concept of the plan was the creation of a box perimeter delimiting a basement reserved for all the house services, a ground floor dedicated for the kitchen, reception & dining areas and an upper floor level for the family private rooms & living areas overlooking the mountain view. The roof, obviously, was fully covered with classic red tiles.
The building is based on the simple Lebanese system of straight lines making it perfect to incorporate traditional windows & doors openings enabling rays of the sun to pour over the space while the reflection of the light shines inside the house. The interior respects the private areas producing a large spatial heterogeneity in rooms with a wide and pleasant variety of sizes and heights.
In due course the overall cladding material used to skin the villa consisted of rustic natural rock stones emphasizing the old-fashioned panache.
The outside zone of the villa includes, aside from the big garden, a terraced seating area. Constant eye contact between inside and outside is maintained thanks to the use of wide arcade glazing systems. The separation between the volumes and the insertion of natural light deep into the house, underlines the distinction between private and public areas and allows insertion of light deep into the house, which is comprehensive in proportion.
The design allows constant visual invasion of the greenery in the summer, snow in the winter and exposes the view to the inside of the house, while maintaining privacy to the tenants.
The villa is woven among both the surrounding trees & mounts and will undoubtedly shelter many upcoming good memories.
GALLERY
