Built with the help of the Association for Rural Development in South Lebanon and other organisations for the Al Baqaa Fishermen’s housing cooperative on land on the outskirts of the city, the complex provides a solution for the old and overcrowded conditions that this marginalised community lived under. The complex takes the form of an elongated building (7.6 metres thick) that wraps in on itself creating an internal road and a courtyard with a public garden and playground. There are 80 two-bedroom units of roughly equal size each with private outdoor space. The linear mass of the complex is perforated with passages and small public spaces to enhance its urban character.
al-Asad, Mohammad. 2012. "Small-Scale Residential Projects: The Region’s Architectural Laboratories". In Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in the Middle East, 21-45. Gainesville: University Press of Florida
Description
Beginning at the end of the first Gulf War, the Middle East entered a new era of architectural and urban development defined by increased levels of globalization and private sector investment. In the decade that followed, the region was home to a wealth of architectural projects that challenged conventional thinking about architecture and the Middle East itself. Mohammad al-Asad provides an in-depth examination of an abundance of these projects, from homes and schools to hotels and religious centers. Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in the Middle East examines the economic, political, and cultural context in which the projects were created. The book’s photographs bring attention to previously unaddressed aspects of modern Arabic architecture, highlighting local talent emerging throughout the region.
