Within a residential quarter of Dbayeh, Lebanon, GD residence is situated on a sloped terrain surrounded by monotonous residential building typologies exploiting maximum allowable built-up area.

Responding to the context and topography, the project was delicately inserted into the site. The purpose was not to look at the constraints but to benefit from the deployment of the site and its unique view. The design evolved as a resultant of a dialogue between site, surroundings, clients and architect.

The project was designed to host a diverse program of residential and entertainment units while it still maintains the overall feel of one dwelling. Responding to a client’s vision of hosting the extended family members in one structure while keeping each one’s privacy allowed for substantial negotiations between the engineers and the architect.

The challenge was to create a structure that exploited both the surface and the allowable area while claiming its territory as one residence. The structural system played a large role in anchoring the building onto the site with its internal core from the east facade and allowed for a nine-meter canopy to extend.

The spatial configurations change per floor responding to the client’s program. The building celebrates the multi-family units that are merged into one dwelling. Each unit settles on an independent platform that holds its own landscape. Its hierarchical degree of privacy is explored vertically allowing the entertainment floor to disconnect the owners from their guests.

The first unit is the parents’ unit that lies under a nine-meter canopy framing the sea view as well as increasing the outdoor sheltered area. On the other hand, the second unit is the guests’ unit that shares an internal loggia; Over this unit is the entertainment unit which sits in between the guest and the private units above it as separation. The entertainment level consists of a lounge and fitness space creating an enclosure onto a large terrace extending in a seamless manner against the panoramic view.

The main reception connects with the upper road looking over the entertainment floor with its longitudinal rooms. The bedrooms are located on the first floor; however, the final floor is where the master bedroom lies at the center of the west facade with ultimate transparency towards the view.

The staircases at the periphery of the building create a continuous circulation connecting all exterior platforms embracing the house. The ever-changing sequence of uninterrupted landscape contribute to imitating the topography it lies upon while releasing the entertainment terrace from the ground. This allows for guests to roam around the landscape of the house and use its amenities without entering into the interior premise at every floor.