Competition 1

Rethinking the Urban Residential Building

Our Distinguished Jury

Hana Alamuddin

Ece Cakir Aidan

Karim Elgendy

Rohit Garg

Patricia Linares Mendez

Kartikeya Rajput

Richard Saad

Theresa Sloet Tot Everlo

Rima Sorer Al Housseiny

Competition Brief

Idea competition for an urban residential building that provides users comfort with minimal energy usage. Comfort can be thermal, visual, and acoustic. Green, sustainable, low energy, zero energy or nearly zero energy buildings are terms used to define a specific approach to architecture. Furthermore, four-time frames are linked to the previous labels:

Embedded energy of construction materials
Energy consumed within the construction phase
Overall lifespan energy consumption or (yearly energy consumption)
End of life or the energy needed for demolition, decommissioning or recycling

Participants are expected to deal with at least two-time frames one of which is the building’s yearly energy consumption.

The Program

The site is considered within the coastal climatic zone of Lebanon (the attached files provide the data). The side has a 1.5m drop between the pedestrian road and the lot back limit. The lot area is 600 sqm, set back are 4m from all sides and the maximum height should not exceed 35m. Basement, Ground Floor & Mezzanine: besides the private lobby, entrance for the building’s inhabitants, there is a public Art lounge that includes a temporary exhibit, a gallery and a studio. Also, within the lot and extended onto the large pedestrian road adjacent to the lot there should be a public piazza/garden for the general public. The roof should include a public café with a viewing terrace. The floors should contain: 12 small units studios roughly 30sqm each (one open space). 5 medium units studio roughly 60sqm each (living & bedroom) and 5 large units roughly 100sqm (living & 2 bedrooms). Each set of units should also have their own service area, including a laundry room, and a small communal semi-outdoor area. Balconies not exceeding 20% of the floor area can be added at every other floor starting at the second floor.

Specific guidelines

Participants are NOT required nor expected to do energy simulation or any other software simulation. Similarly, No Energy calculations are expected.
Since all entries are digital, judgment will also be only digital, based on the shared presentation template size, participant should take this into account when planning their submission
Participants are expected to show through night/day and seasonal sketches how the building will behave in terms of providing comfort with minimal energy (Passive design).
Participants should also propose a solution for the outdoor area extending from the site into the large pedestrian road to provide a yearlong pleasant outdoor or semi-outdoor area which that provide basic comfort for users.