Graduate architect Ziad El Khoury, who studied at the Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik, Lebanon, has sent us these images of his final student project called Icon of Beirut.
The angular tower is composed of two main volumes and the lower floors extend across the site.
It is a multifunctional public building, which contains internal green spaces. According to the designer, “it attempts to focus on the real identity of Beirut.”
Below is some text from Ziad El Khoury:
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Ziad El Khoury
My Final Project: Beirut Icon
Currently, towers are being created to mark the power of a firm or the wealth of a company or a man, and not to signal an urban event or the city in its real terms.
The contemporary tower dominates the city, but does not reflect its identity or the identity of its citizens.
This is the reason I am proposing the Icon of Beirut, which attempts to focus on the real identity of Beirut: cultural, commercial, religious, ecological and social.
This project is not a monolithic mass, but the transposition of the urban model of Beirut into a vertical scheme. This means the squares, roads, gardens etc. are transposed in a way which assures a horizontal and vertical continuity throughout the tower, and assures a relationship between open and closed, and public and private spaces.
The project concentrates the essentials of the public life of the citizens of Beirut, thus creating a multifunctional complex in its urban environment.
Above: ground floor
Above: fifth floor
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Posted by Rachael Sykes
January 29th, 2009 at 10:32 am
pls stop publishing student projects…..
January 29th, 2009 at 11:18 am
I’m getting seriously angry reading all the architects-blabla about real identity and “cultural .. ecological .. social ..” a project might be really nice, but these pathetic descriptions of a tower which is a tower is just annoying!
January 29th, 2009 at 11:45 am
good design. nice lines, but:
the hole beirut district area, wasn’t taken into consideration, at least it’s not mentioned here, but the first impression was, it does not fit in here.Especially when Biel building right behind is ”dead”, without a real language between these 2 entities.
Ziad, can u explain more please.
nice work, keep it up
January 29th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
amazing project. we are proud of this lebanese architecte.
January 29th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I’m very proud to know that a small country like ours can produce such an excellent architect!
January 29th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
congratulations, very nice project!!!!!
January 29th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Boldest design
January 29th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Good work ziad ! we’re proud of you !
January 29th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
As an object, the project seems okay… it is well designed, but nothing original. We’ve seen this many times over and over… but we’re not talking about originality here.
This is a massive insertion in a very intricate and complex urban fabric… it does not take into consideration the context, or the infrastructure that will serve it. It is bold, and very adequate for a school project, but it has to stop at that…
I honestly don’t think that an intermediate city like the city of Beirut, can digest projects of such scale, and of such impact.. This is overwhelming for Downtown Beirut…
January 29th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
It is so easy to invade the air and create a program that is not linked to it’s site. If this project is a comment on manhattism and towers, then don’t make a tower. In fact, if the vertical superposition contains all the layers of beirut, then a horizontal project filling the site would have been certainly as strong as this. The site, it’s visiblity and location do not request a tower from my point of view. Look at calatrava in Valencia, he made an enormous icon without escaping with it’s architecture into the air.
Good renders, nice work done, certainly, but i do not recognise Middle-Eastern aspects in it.
JDR
January 29th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Well, I respect all your opinions.
For Rude i want to say: Well why ? don’t u wanna encourage young architects!! It’s always about the stars: UN studio, Zaha, OMA etc… Don’t we have a place. I realy thank you dezeen for this chance!! U have made my day.
For the one with no name:”project might be really nice, but these pathetic descriptions of a tower which is a tower is just annoying!”
Well it isn’t just a tower. And there is a lot more “bla-bla-bla”as u said to explain!! These pictures don’t show the concept behinds it. It took a lot of theory to come up with this design. It’s your to choice to love it or to hate it.
For Geo: For the development of beirut district area, Biel is not taken into consideration. (That’s what I knew – According to OMA plans). So Biel is considered as not constructed in the design process. As i said before, there is lot to explain about it and it need all the documents that i presented to explain the real communication between them. What i can say brieflly is that :
i have two main axes, that have shaped my buiding: one that penetrates threw the project and creates the main entrance and the “Square – la place du projet”, the other one comes from the martyrs square and causes the Twist, you can see then, the sea between the two towers from the martyrs square. So it look like a gate to the future of Beirut. it’s also the ” cicatrice”, that’s shown by the straight and strong lines. Sorry Geo, there is a lot to say, and a lot to argue about. Thanks.
January 29th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I find that its rather a good project. As for the Calatrava project in Valencia, I have seen the final model, there is two towers yet to be constructed, designed also by calatrava. Sorry for this example.
I think that you can create an icon or a signal, in a horizontal way or in a vertical way. It’s a choice to make.
In the future, and with the density population we will search to go verticaly. And it’s Good to find that we can make beautifull places veritcaly, it looks like a veritical city.
Good Work! Keep Up!
January 29th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Kudos from here in Texas. I recognize aspirational Middle-Eastern aspects to it. Your building is beautiful.
January 29th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
LOOKS UNDERGRAD….GOOD JOB PAL!
January 29th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
As i remeber, Foster said “I can put my ass in the city” society will judge! Ziad El khoury is calling for an icon….. do we regret!!!!! “integration”: is it to desing and build following existing styles in the area without trying to bring something new and unique! is “Rude” facing a publishing problem for his project, so he’s asking to stop publishing student projects!
January 29th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
well, as a student at LAU we are kind of restricted and supressed, we study architecture yet ther aint any identity exposed, the corrections we have are not adequate….ziad, your project reflects a background of great amount of research and theory as well as personal taste and philosophy, and yes we are sick of hearing and getting exposed fully to the deconstructivist work of zaha and …..zaha i love you but hide for a while…breath…yet you surprise me every time i c ur sculptures
January 29th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I really like it! Congrats. I even like it more than some starchitects’ projects I’ve recently have seen here. It reminds me of Alejandro Aravena’s Twin Towers, somehow.
January 29th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
I am in no position to judge the architectural details of the project but I can say that the whole concept is pretty amazing as it reflects a fact that has inflicted Beirut and Lebanon in general after the war years: a scar, a deep one.
I love how the two main volumes of the tower are “accepting” each other and growing vertically even with a deep scar, gives a hint for today’s Lebanese society about living, accepting and growing together…
Great to see a fellow Lebanese creative featured here, I am proud of you Ziad.
Keep up the good work!
January 29th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
great design
January 29th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Innocuous.
January 29th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
We usually see projects from students trying to give a professional look to there project without success. Though i think that Ziad’s work was studied, worked and presented professionally.
We can clearly see values from the work he has done. A+ for a students work & and for sure, it stands by it self in the professional world.
Great Job Ziad!
January 29th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
just by counting the number of comments i can say that YES it’s an ICON…
January 29th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
nice work pround to have a lebanese like u wish u the best of luck
courage t un cedre du liban , the true face of it
January 29th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Ziad, no need to justify yourself, your project, and your point of view;
My dear you are published in Dezeen !…
being your teacher, I am proud of you, and USEK should be proud of you.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Well done Ziad. As an Undergrad u had really came up with a nice project. I think u went in deep understanding for the need of an icon for Beirut, as i went through ur reply. Chuck out what people says. As a part of new breed of architect thanx god u didnt stick to some kinda philosophy….like most of them do. Ur project is beautiful in inspiring and talks abt the need to cater the vertical society.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Ziad! as a lebanese and a collegue, i am very proud. i truly am. inspite of everything. some people might be against vertical orientation others would encourage it. as someone said earlier its a choice we make but it doesn’t make it less valuable. And Architecture is about choices that the Architect finds suitable and that brings out the best in our culture adn society. you have a vision and that makes you a great architect.the tower is highly dynamic, actually so dynamic that it had to go vertically. keep up the good work. i think u have yet to show the world what lebanese architects can do!!! Zaha won’t know what hit her
January 29th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Awesome. I’m a French Lebanese Blogger. I grew up in kaslik (near the university where this Ziad studied) and i’m really proud to see those buildings, this kind of stuff means so much to us Lebanese. It was a goof thing living in Lebanon for 2 minutes (i’m in france now)
January 29th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
GOOD JOB.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I wouldn’t want something so brutal dominating the Beirut skyline. The bottom part looks Soviet, while the top part reminds me of the generic Dubai-type towers.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
hello … i’m a lebanese interior architect and designer …
it is a nice project indeed … but people who wants to understand they have to not just look at the pics … they have to understand the concept and the researched behind this …
i have to say it is not very original design .. but it is bold and it is beautiful. even if i can’t root automatically to the beirutian influence.
but Beirut has been always a symbol of eastern western mixture, and a blend of new and old …
for a student architect it really amazed me and m proud to know such young designers who day after day are getting noticed …
we lebanese are always pround of our designers and artists …
January 29th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
i’m so proud of you as well, and all u other guys from smallish countries producing things. like the swiss, they do a great cheese over there.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:03 am
Good job man. We need new talents in our world. For a fresh graduate you have proven to have an excellent future perspective. Looking forward to see your projects executed!!! Best of luck!!
January 30th, 2009 at 3:53 am
cool.
January 30th, 2009 at 6:31 am
5th image from top i really like, has an influence of the roof of casa de musica….really nice!
January 30th, 2009 at 8:22 am
A very well done, sucky project…
January 30th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Amazing project;
Among all the years of my experience I have rarely faced such student project;
Beirut is proud of its architects;
January 30th, 2009 at 10:37 am
As a Lebanese young architect, I want to remind you all that merely in the world we were born with no equal opportunities. But I believe that once we will have it, a Lebanese young architect like Ziad Khoury will show the world how unequal we are. “Give the people equal opportunities, to show them how unequal they are”.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:57 am
When we say icon of Beirut i’m very sure it should be Vertical and High.
The icon of Beirut must be seen from Distance.
It Should Dominate The Area.
Great Design,Well Done Ziad
January 30th, 2009 at 11:49 am
woowwwww lebanese architects rule.
fashaytillna khili2na.
great job.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
to be honest, i don’t think that beirut needs an icon, and i also disagree with any project whose approach is to dominate visually the aspect of the whole environment as the big mosque in down town (out of scale)…we don’t need elements and volumes that dominates the aspect and the spirit of the city, although i agree that we need those cultural and social spaces to be highlighted but where and how…lot of spaces to be converted as places…beirut is historical city with lot of old monuments that evoke feelings instead of new ones with visual impact…
it seems i’m against lot of projects in beirut cause i see that we’re dealing with it as a new city that needs to be constructed instead of renovating meaningfull spaces with a multisensory experience. in such situations less architecture is the best architecture.
regards
January 30th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I would plant 2 cedars instead
Too much of stones! Cedars would reflect a better identity than adding buildings to a city like Beirut where we can’t find a place to park!
January 30th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
wow! This “student Porject” is capturing comments more than others!
Dezeen, pls keep publishing student’s work.
I like the design. I’ve never been to Beirut before, and I really don’t know is this design suitable for an Icon for Beirut or not. I guess People from Beirut can tell, and I can see many of them are evaluating the project.
Anyway, as for me , I really appreciate student projects that reflect thier devotion to their hometowns.
WELL DONE ZIAD! interesting design, rendering, presentation.
All the best
January 30th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
very bold and interesting design, but i dont think its suitable for beirut and it can be planted anywhere like all the towers in the world nothing that original about it except the fact that a lebanese student designed it. keep it up but keep in ur mind the scale of beirut and its identity and charm that we are losing for towers like this one. build all the towers u want but don’t ruin beirut and its history of a certain architectural aspect. we are not the vertical culture and as lebanese we have always been unique! so let us be unique in our modern architecture as well and not follow the trends just because everyone is building towers and is after vertical domination.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
very nice job ziad…well now u must know i was right;:))))
As a friend and collegue who admires ur work…i must tell u again that u have a very strong project despite all the comments written above!!!
And as a lebaneese i must thank dezeen for this opportunity that u really deserve!!!!
keep on the good work ziz!!!
January 31st, 2009 at 5:24 am
ditto on what EVE said.
plus I would’ve liked to see comments made by people other than Ziad’s friends!
January 31st, 2009 at 5:39 am
oops!! almost forgot to thank Dezeen to post a student project other than AA students’ for a change!
January 31st, 2009 at 9:55 am
I am a regular visitor of dezeen since years though I never comment:)
TO Dezeen:
I appreciate you posting student projects, it is always intruiging to see fresh minds that still have the flexibility and options to do whatever they want and are not subjected to the staticness of practise.
TO ALL:
Why is it always easiest to critisize people who aren’t famous and on the other hand we accept whatever famous architects do because their legitimacy is being famous.
In other words, Zaha hadids projects for example are all the same and I dont really see how she integrates the context! in the concept she does integrate it but not in the form. I am all for creating an identity of ones architecture but one shouldnt forget about the identity of the place and thats when architecture and design is turned into a tool facilitating ones ego rather than building upon what the place is. The Genuis loci.
January 31st, 2009 at 10:44 am
hello, im a student in LAU
i Agree with Charbel Aoun.
Ziad … You’re a lebanese and so am i. You seem a fan of OMA.. Please Review what Rem koolhaas and Peter Eisenman said on a round table discussion in Canada about iconic architecture era. This project is not about urban beirut. It’s about you. Obviously u have been too selfish to see what Beirut celebrates as uniqueness and maybe you need a bit more sensitivity to understand that architecture is not about fancy words and vague descriptions of looking from martyrs square and seeing whatever. It’s about the experience and the atmosphere, its about the fabric and picturesque journey around, its about a rich history. I’m sure if you had sat in martyrs square for 15 minutes you would learn a bit more of what im saying, if not, imagine you’re designing such a project in ROME. However, if you like your project so much feel free to construct it in the suburbs i’m sure it will fit nicely.
January 31st, 2009 at 10:50 am
… Sometimes its not about creativity… sometimes its about forgetting that you are the architect, the masterhead, and staying out of the picture. Sometimes its about doing normative work that you are geniune, “Ugly architecture is not bad after all (Robert Venturi), Sometimes its about limiting creativity for the sake of a coherent and unified whole. Sometimes its about resembling others’ work and re-doing an idea to deliver rythm and harmony to a once ORDERED vernacular classical piece of music before it was destroyed. This is what you havent learned in your school my friend
January 31st, 2009 at 10:55 am
Your project resembles the project of Jean Nouvel, The LANDMARK … and this is not a complement. You should be ashamed. You are not similar to him nor zaha.. because you have lived your life in beirut.. and yet you deliver the exact same project that Nouvel and Zaha would deliver. You are no Alvar Aalto nor Alvaro Siza nor Oscar Niemeyer. Think about it
January 31st, 2009 at 11:40 am
Good luck on ur carreer ziad !
regarding the architecture, I do encourage the young talents, but i just don’t see any iconic image in this tower …
not reflective of anything related to Beirut.. not any modern image that we havent already seen….
im gonna have to say.. Too Deja Vu !
Sorry
Good luck anyway
January 31st, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Congratulations Ziad!!!!
January 31st, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I’m proud & more than proud!!!!!!!
For all candidat before, as reminder, we were the Pheonician of spreading alphabet, trading, sailing,….etc
All my push Ziad, keep giving, you are an artist & Beirut deserve more.
Hope one day be the manager of these buildings after my current experience in towers construction in UAE.
January 31st, 2009 at 2:59 pm
nothing more to add.
congratulations to you Ziad.
January 31st, 2009 at 3:34 pm
guess an ”horizontal” tower will be more interesting here, like the first or second prize winner of the Beirut central competition by solidaire ( cant really remember). i totally agree with charbel samuel aoun. guess this project can fit anywhere, its not always the design that counts, but the whole context.we have to fill the blanks in Beirut in a cultural, social..way not by making icons ”eating” the historical,.. stuff
courage
January 31st, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Great job Ziad!
Very good beginning!
Don’t know much about the vertical and horizontal thing, but all I can say is “u did it!”
Keep up the good work,
waiting to hear more about u!
February 1st, 2009 at 12:21 am
c’est vraiment un plaisir de voir un travail a cette hauteur !! courage ziad !!
February 1st, 2009 at 9:06 am
I am not an architect, my career is in development. After I have read all the comments above, I found that some are objective, some are encouraging, some are patriotic, some are cynical, some are jealous, some reflect their hatered to life in general and others their positive challenging achievments and vision. well, this is the Lebanese nature, otherwise we would not have experienced the destruction of our country from which we have not learned any lesson to improve the future. Let us look for the promising future of such talented young men, like Ziad and ecourage them, rather than destroy them, to continue to pursue their career positively. Let us all give Ziad a loud HORAY.. HORAY for the excellent job done and the gifted talented mind and spirit.. HORAY for Ziad and I hope you will see your project materialized somewhere.. Good Luck.
February 1st, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Really great final project. Exceptional presentation. As a young student of Architecture just beginning to experiment with 3d computer drawings and renderings I wonder would anyone (or even Ziad himself) have any information about what software was used for these drawings?
February 1st, 2009 at 10:50 pm
As a professional, I like very much the work of Mr Ziad. Congratulations.
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:09 am
i admire anyone willing to put their work up for critique, whether a student or not.
ziad, my critique is your building interface at ground level, with the street- the public plaza/square is too open and wide and the building does not offer any sort of positive frontage to the street. It will not be a comfortable space for people and will most likely be a dead space.
if you can take this into account in future, i wish you good luck with your endeavours.
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:07 am
Awesome!..Good luck Ziad!..
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:16 am
hey ziad, ive raed the comments up ther,,,enno shu badde ellak, m a future architect, i dont have alot of advice to tell you, but hey, just express urself and dont let anyone stop you, go crazy, beirut is a land of battle fields and thoughts, as well as culture beauty and uglyness…it fits everyone, like a gigantic vagina fucked by everyone,,people are bullshitters, like me, architecture is art, self exprssion, selfishness,,thats what the world we live in is all about…yalla goood luckZzzz, i hope ur nt like those obcessed architects who think they are better tha everyone…
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I’ve read the comments and i couldn’t just not say anything! it’s true that i disagree with changing beirut’s icon and landmark into vertical icons which are not our identity as lebanese but in reply to Rony H. the LAU student, well u’ve learned ur lesson well about all the famous architects out there and thank u for letting us know that u have all this information! really! i’m impressed but still as lebanese u have to start encouraging talents, it doesn’t matter if u disagree or not to Ziad’s approach! what matters is that it is nice architecture and a good one and i can tell it functions perfectly but what matters is that w Lebanese student (other than urself) is out there and has the attention of people and someone we can be proud of! so i suggest u get over urself and i’d like to see ur work for a change and i’m sure there will be plenty of criticism.
Ziad, aside the fact if we agree or not to ur vision of Beirut’s icon, everyone can tell that u have great potential, and if it wasn’t a good project there wouldn’t be so much criticism and comments and it wouldn’t attract people and have them debating over it! so therefore i agree with Ghassan Jamous!
And as an architect myself, i see u have great potential and a brilliant future ahead of u and years of success to come. I can only hope that u will be able to spread something more unique to lebanese territory and more into our architectural culture rather than being led by what the world is doing!
what goes for the world does not go for lebanese! it’s about time we understand that!
Best of luck Ziad. Oh and one more thing. Archimaniak not everyone is Ziad’s friend. there are intellectual people left out here u know. But still if in proud moments such as these if we don’t have our friends’ support when can we have that?? so to all Ziad’s friends! u are great friends if Ziad can allow me to say that.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
P.S. i love “Samah” ’s comment. it makes it more subjective looking at the tower. But that doesn’t mean i change my mind about the whole Beirut scale hehe
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:27 pm
i have seem many towers and public projects but urs has many specifications and we can put it with best architects projects ……………..bon travail Ziad , courage
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:32 pm
i have 1 comment , about the scale ..it’s huge!!!!
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
As the Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal ý Mercado once said, “Ang kabataan ang kinabukasan ng Bayan.” (The youth is the future of the Nation.) And as another aspiring architect, I can attest that Mr. Ziad will be a bright future for Lebanese Architecture. Make a name and make your country proud! Show everyone how competitve you are and may you have an outstanding career. Rock on! \m/
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
EVE you’re a exceptional person…. reading y0ur last comment made me smile .. well .. i think we all know.. with the birth of the artist came the birth of the critic.. every work in history was and still is criticized by people… I do encourage Ziad as i encourage all architects and architecture students to be men of vision for the prospect of our nation is dependent on people like Ziad, you, me and hundreds of other talented people.
Looking forward to see your work EVE !
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:42 pm
As a Designer, and a Father, I am Very Proud of you, my Son Ziad
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:06 pm
It is becoz of such young ginius and creative minds that we keep our hope in our beloved country! They made ur day my dear friend, and you made mine! U are a great hard worker, and u finally “began” getting what u deserved!
As long as we have minds like yours… LEBNEN BI ALF KHEIR!
February 7th, 2009 at 12:24 am
creative ???
http://www.oma.eu/index.php?option=com_projects&view=portal&id=388&Itemid=10
February 10th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Rony H. you are exceptional urself. I’m glad we have people like u and Ziad. and im glad u encourage Ziad, u just needed to say it.
As for my work, u already see it u just don’t know that it’s my work
I wish you, Ziad and all the future talented lebanese architects a brilliant future and the best of luck.
February 12th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
wow… simply wow!!! good job ZIAD! wish you all the best and hoping for more!
would love to see your project executed! it’s pure pride
February 17th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
First, it is a good job ziad. but the point is that you can not label this as “ICON OF BEIRUT”…because Beirut is not Dubai and Abudhabi and others new countries…it’s a great city that passes through several stages and has undergone several changes, and as it is a result of the stratification of civilizations, so in all that we do, we can’t see the oriental city which is neither Arab nor Western..
so i think its a very good job but u don’t have the right to give the title “ICON OF BEIRUT”…
but finally I wish you Ziad the best of luck!!