Ras Beirut : The Communal cloud
Our proposition is a vision of what an inclusive city could be, as we believe inclusivity has a strong role to play in the future of cities life. Thus the project includes mixed-used spaces for a mixed population. While preserving the existing fabric, we enhance our site’s potential by acting on two levels: physical and social. On the physical level, we decided to treat the plot as a complex urban mix. We adopted a strategy inspired by the adaptive reuse philosophy. We reduced the surface of the housing units to increase the number of tenants. This has two main advantages.
First, we allow the rents to stay at an affordable rate, and freeing m2 to offer common spaces and facilities to both the tenants and the neighborhood. We also managed to add 3100m2 of livable spaces through extensions and additional buildings. This pragmatic approach is designed to enable the financial balance of the project and its socially responsible guidelines.
Second, our strategy intends to target a wide range of households: the actual tenants, students and workers, families, artists and tourists.
We expect the complex to be managed by a dedicated team responsible for its inclusive and environmental strategies.
The project offers urban farming facilities, workshops premises and a library, accessible to everyone. It is an alternative to classical real estate developments, and an innovative opportunity of high spreading potential.
Communal cloud relies on the creation of a real estate company, ideally owned by a majority of residents of the complex.
Our project involves a wide range of actors: the residents are the most important as they give life to the project, Beirut’s municipality, UN-Habitat, investors, developers, insurance companies and NGOs.
Our proposition is a vision of what an inclusive city could be, as we believe inclusivity has a strong role to play in the future of cities life. Thus the project includes mixed-used spaces for a mixed population. While preserving the existing fabric, we enhance our site’s potential by acting on two levels: physical and social. On the physical level, we decided to treat the plot as a complex urban mix. We adopted a strategy inspired by the adaptive reuse philosophy. We reduced the surface of the housing units to increase the number of tenants. This has two main advantages.
First, we allow the rents to stay at an affordable rate, and freeing m2 to offer common spaces and facilities to both the tenants and the neighborhood. We also managed to add 3100m2 of livable spaces through extensions and additional buildings. This pragmatic approach is designed to enable the financial balance of the project and its socially responsible guidelines.
Second, our strategy intends to target a wide range of households: the actual tenants, students and workers, families, artists and tourists.
We expect the complex to be managed by a dedicated team responsible for its inclusive and environmental strategies.
The project offers urban farming facilities, workshops premises and a library, accessible to everyone. It is an alternative to classical real estate developments, and an innovative opportunity of high spreading potential.
Communal cloud relies on the creation of a real estate company, ideally owned by a majority of residents of the complex.
Our project involves a wide range of actors: the residents are the most important as they give life to the project, Beirut’s municipality, UN-Habitat, investors, developers, insurance companies and NGOs.
Ras Beirut is a vibrant neighborhood that developed in the 1960’s as part of Beirut’s expansions. It has always been characterized by its particular openness, known around the Arab world as a progressive, tolerant place both on the social and sectarian levels.
The presence of the American University Campus contributed highly to Hamra’s cosmopolitan identity, allowing the neighborhood around to nest the intellectual elite during the country’s modernization.
The site we choose to study as part of the competition is located in this colorful neighborhood. The adjacent buildings reflect the modern spirit that accompanied the development of the area.
Our case is located on Mohammad Abdel Baki Street. Its coherence and harmony is due to the Modern buildings from the 60’s.
The presence of the Gefinor center, a 1969 complex, designed by the inventors of malls, Victor Gruen is another proof of the area’s modernist ambition.
Traces of an older bucolic Beirut remain next-door in the presence of a so-called Lebanese house facing our site.
Today this multi-faceted neighborhood coexists with the result of an unbridled urbanization process.
To address our case study and preserve the existing fabric in all its components we are proposing a vision of what an inclusive city could be. We believe inclusivity has a strong role to play in a city’s life, especially in neighborhoods where it is already embedded as part of its DNA. Our proposal seeks for a project including mixed-used spaces for a mixed population. Mixed in every term: generations, races, genders and social backgrounds.
Physical treatment
There are two different buildings on the site. We have decided to treat the plot as a complex and we are intervening on two levels:
- On the existing, through an adaptive reuse strategy
- On adding new square meters
- Adaptive reuse of the existing
Our idea is to transform the actual partition of the existing spaces. We want to increase the number of tenants and reduce the surface of the housing units. This will help the economic balance of the project, while allowing the rents to stay at an affordable rate on the individual level, knowing that the apartments are far too big for a single occupancy. Providing shared and common spaces to the inhabitants of the complex will facilitate this. Our three pillars of intervention are the following:
In each building
- Division of the existing spaces/flats
Two floors are divided to offer smaller and more numerous living spaces. - Shared spaces
Two floors are transformed as shared livable spaces with common amenities and different sleeping units. - Dormitories
One floor is dedicated to dormitories and allocated in priority to students and workers
- The addition(s)
As the economic challenges can’t be left apart, 5000 additional square meters can be built on the plot, we plan to add around 3100m2. Our four strategies are the following:
- Additional building
On the back of the plot, we provided the regulatory 4.5x5.5m vis-à-vis courtyards in-between the different building spaces, so we managed to have an additional 8 floors building with 2 apartments on each floor. This addition provides an extra 1008m2. - Additional transitional artistic building
We linked the existing buildings with three artist-like loft duplexes. On the third floor a publicly accessible garden connects the two dormitory blocks. This provides 408m2. - Extending the heights
Two extra floors are built on a portion of the top of the two buildings. On one building the extension is used as a Terrace villa, on the second one as a laboratory/workshop for urban farming. The result is an extra 984m2. - English courtyards
We create two English courtyards in the now connected basement in order to use the spaces as livable and lit ones which amount to 344m2. - Extra storages
At the back of the extended basement, some 350 m2 are used as storage for the residents, the workshops and the other activities.
New connections between the different parts of the complex will help tame the new density. The new buildings are connected with the rest of the complex through urban walkways. Back balconies of the existing buildings are used as passageways, linking each floor to the main bridges.
This proposal is a pragmatic contemporary approach to socio-economical-sustainable living, without undermining the existing fabric nor considering the buildings as sacred.
For us, the architectural qualities of the two buildings and the modern heritage they represent are obvious, but we believe in a city of layers and complexities that addresses contemporary issues of density, sustainability and a shared living.
The pressure of an everyday increasing cost of living in Beirut compels us to find new ways of inhabiting without damaging architectural landmark and urban fabrics.
Our strategy is to make the best out of this situation by presenting an alternative housing program optimizing the site while keeping the existing.
By offering a variety of products, we ease the cohabitation of a wide range of the population, while benefiting from a mutual support and contribution, and creating an inclusive multi-use residential complex.
It is also designed to enable a compensation system: higher rents (at key locations) or contributions pay to balance the financial loss in order to build this socially responsible project.
A socially responsible proposition
In addition to the physical treatment of the complex, we intend to propose a responsible and respectful project maintaining social diversity and targeting a wide range of households.
A variety of residents
First, the actual tenants (13 olds rents out of 19 apartments, 3 vacant and 1 occupied by its owner) would be asked to exchange their vast flats (250-300m2) against smaller but affordable units in their buildings. As at least 50% of the actual households are persons living alone, the deal we are promoting is agreeable to avoid displacement of low and middle- income residents.
Second, dedicated units located on the same floor would be created for the special needs and means of students and foreign workers.
Third, families would be welcomed in optimized flats with no service spaces.
Fourth, artists and wealthier families would join the complex in the duplexes and the upper penthouses added.
Fifth, tourists could also be part of this socially diverse mix, either by using the current old tenants apartments as guesthouses (a new lease is then signed to manage parts of their flats for short-terms periods), or by using the units dedicated to students and workers during vacation breaks.
Common and shared spaces and facilities
To balance the loss of spaces, the new communal aspect created by having a mix in people, amenities and shared accessible spaces will help increase the real estate value.
On the ground floor and in the basement, the project offers a variety of spaces, open to the neighborhood. A library, a multi-use hall, a cafeteria, a playroom, a grocery space, a second- hand furniture shop with related workshops (wood, metal, painting...)Parts of the roofs will also be common. They will be used as urban parks and will also host vegetable gardens and hydroponic facilities. The production will be managed by the community and sold at the grocery store.
Environmental friendly shared cars for outer city trips and shared bicycles for inner city trips will also be available to residents of the complex. Reducing the number of car park spots will limit the cost of the operation: the municipality is expected to support this measure by cancelling the penalties.
Management of the complex
We suggest nominating or employing a “community manager” in charge of the complex. One would be responsible of the maintenance but also of its animation. Among others he would be responsible for the social diversity of the site and its environmental agenda. In fact, the environmental strategy of the projects is not limited to design (green walls, solar and photovoltaic panels are integrated to the project). Tenants will contribute to improve the complex’s results in terms of waste management, responsible use of fluids, respectful food consumption.
Feasibility
In conformity with the allowed built-up area, the extensions will reach 3094m2 of living spaces. Although it stays below the maximum allowed, it is an optimized compromise: the financial loss from a rational business’ point of view is balanced by the real estate value. Plus we expect a very low vacancy rate.
Partly based on an adaptive reuse strategy, our project maintains the neighborhood scale and addresses the issue of the environmental cost of building sites.
Regarding the legal framework, the creation of a real estate company has the favor. The idea is to build a community composed of shareholders, ideally living in the building themselves.
To avoid speculation, their rights and duties are defined in the complex guidelines. Among them:
- shareholders are committed toward the community
- the inclusive spirit of the complex is a central element and can’t be legally bypassed.
- new members have to be accepted by the existing community.
Partners
To create the first board of this new real estate company, we aim to launch a call in partnership with local authorities and international institutions such as UN-Habitat, investors, developers, insurance companies and NGOs.
Beirut’s municipality is a singular partner in this project. Its support is expressed at every step of the project. We expect to have no extra charges for the division of new areas and for not giving enough car parks. This will help the financial balance of the operation and will also support low-income householders of the complex.
This support is a counterpart to the project’s commitment towards its inclusive values. In case of disrespect, the municipality has the right to cancel and claim back all its commitments. Developers looking for a shift or a diversification of their products and business plan are also key partners we want to involve.
Insurance companies are to be involved to adapt their products to the evolution of people’s life (coliving, coworking...).
NGOs could provide the needed administrative support and animate the site while using the complex premises.
This alternative project has a high spreading potential. Not only on the same street, but also in other neighborhoods in Beirut, many land opportunities exist, making possible a diffusion of this initiative for a more sustainable and inclusive city.