Located on Beirut’s Corniche, this project exemplifies the university’s mission to foster a vibrant academic and social community through sustainable design. It integrates social gathering spaces with athletic facilities, an amphitheatre, auditorium and cafe in a three-dimensional system of interconnecting buildings arranged around courtyards and gardens. Innovative sustainable design technologies such as sea-water cooling are combined with traditional strategies, including the breaking-up of the facilities into different buildings to capture daylight and allow sea breezes to move through the site. At the same time, the centre acts as a gateway to the university, activating the flow between campus and Corniche.

Source:

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 2011.