[nabil gholam architects - The House with two lives - COVER IMG] The shell of the house’s new addition, as well as the balconies that overlook the vast gardens and forest, are made of Cor-Ten steel, which changes color and ages along with the surrounding nature.
[nabil gholam architects - The House with two lives - IMG 1] [nabil gholam architects - The House with two lives - IMG 2] [nabil gholam architects - The House with two lives - IMG 3] [nabil gholam architects - The House with two lives - IMG 4] [nabil gholam architects - The House with two lives - IMG 5]

The House with two lives

PrizeHonorable Mention in Architectural Design / Residential Architecture
Firm LocationBeirut, Lebanon
Companynabil gholam architects
Lead ArchitectNabil Gholam
Design TeamArchitecture: nabil gholam architects Structural Design: Serhal Consulting Office Electro-mechanical Design: Pierre Dammous & Partners Landscape Design: Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture Photography: Geraldine Bruneel, Nabil Gholam, Joe Kesrouani, Richard Saad
ClientPrivate
Projecthttps://www.nabilgholam.com/project.15

The house had been occupied and used as a detention center during Lebanon’s war. The owner wished to preserve the house’s history and happy memories associated with his grandfather and childhood. The architect preferred to erase the wartime history. This was resolved by accommodating both desires. The house was gutted, reinforced and turned into a ‘shell’ into which a new home was inserted. The series of stacked and perforated Corten steel-clad boxes projects beyond the empty shell. This skin is punctured with tiny dots echoing patterns of trees, a “tree trunk ghost” projected on the façade.