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Architectural Projects: 2 Residential Buildings in Koura, LEB.
2 Architectural Projects Designed by Archi-Tech+ Studios
When writing a review about architectural projects, there are a few key things you will want to keep in mind. First and foremost, it is important to remember that a review is not simply a criticism or a list of things that you did not like about any specific project.
Instead, a review should be constructive and positive, as well as an objective analysis of the project as a whole; We should have a closer look at its negatives and the same amount of its positives.
When conducting your review, you will want to start by taking a look at the overall design of the project. This includes everything from the layout of the buildings to the way that the landscaping has been designed. Pay particular attention to how the different elements of the project interact with one another. Are there any areas where the design seems to be lacking?
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| Fig.1- Residential and Commercial Building- View 2 from the main road |
Next, you may want to look at the different materials used in constructing the projects... In this post today, I will
I believe that
I was obliged to do many editing sessions to ensure the matching between good architecture and the struggling local construction rules sometimes...
Good to note that in my country Lebanon there is a list of rules related to the built permit that needs some modificarions to say the least, or even a re-study of it to match the modern lifestyle and so. Anyway, to whom it may concern, I'm sharing a public link for a free downloadable e-copy of the Construction Laws Set in the Arabic language, currently applicable in Lebanon, for the general knowledge. To download it click on the link here.
The other major issue that usually the architect or other designer confronts is the client himself; because some clients have false thoughts in mind about many architectural facts that were inherited from generation to generation all by mistake or lack of good culture.
- I may discuss those essential topics in other upcoming posts.
Having that said, let's start our reviews for the 2 residential buildings as introduced earlier:
Project No. 1: Private Villa in Btourram- Koura
This private residence is located in Btourram, a small village in Caza of Koura- North of Lebanon, about 80 to 85 km away from Beirut and at a height of 300 m above sea level. This village is famous for its old Lebanese traditional architecture houses.
To meet the needs of the client and the small reserved-to-built area of the plot, I was obliged to shift the concept of the villa to an aspect ratio of a rectangle of its sizes in different dimensions. As a result of this theory, we obtain a stretched shape of a rectangle with a ratio of approximately 16:9.
The fact is: that such a rectangular shape is hard to convert into a good practical —architectural, and functional— living space without facing issues in circulations between rooms and floors (i.e. horizontal and vertical circulations). Even the exterior concept will be difficult to deal comfortably with.
In my opinion, the best solution between the two constraints was the use of this aspect ratio rectangle, which I talked about earlier. As you will see later in the figures down here, it ensures excellent interior functionality while providing a nice view of the architectural concept (...) The villa consists of two floors:
- Ground Floor that includes a living area + wide reception + dining room and of course a kitchen + a breakfast corner.
- First Floor of three bedrooms each includes its own private toilet and a family area + kitchenette.
- To view or download the plans of the Ground and First Level, please go to the relevant link as follows: click for the Ground Floor and the First Floor. You will be redirected to another safe site where you will be prompted to download the .jpg files. Sorry for any inconvenience to request the links. For the Elevations, click respectively on Elevations_1 and Elevations_2 for all sides. And finally, for the Sections click on Sections to download the document.
All the above cited, will generate a total of 233 sq.m. for the built area only and a total payment of 2,000 US$ for the design and permit folder at the time. (Execution documents fees not included) As, for the materials intended to be used in the building, it was, without doubt, the popular local natural stone (Kour, or else) because its color and texture are similar to the original Lebanese house. In addition to Marseille red tiles for the roofs.
Note: Unfortunately, the client did not ask for rendered 3D views to review the materials when applied; Otherwise, the cost will be increased.
Technical Notes concerning the Architectural Project:
- To spread the benefit and knowledge for all, especially for the Architecture major students who always find it hard to get their references, I hereby share the original .dwg file. To download from here.
The document includes all the drawings of the project with the construction lines needed to accomplish the drawing task in the very best way; You can also find the ultimate arches drawings for both the elevations and sections, which can be used in other designs for the same architectural style.
I own all the copyrights concerning the Design and Drafting.The ACAD blocks are customizable and can be extracted to be used on any other files. The document is compatible with the ACAD version 2013 and later. The Arabic ACAD Fonts are also available for free, to download from here.
Project No. 2: Commercial & Residential in Koura
This is the second project from our 2 architectural projects I wanted to discuss and share; (See Fig.1 above) It took me a lot of hard work and time. Located on Btouratige Main Road, it was designed with minimal costs in mind (as per the client's instructions of course).
The saving costs include in fact two obligations:
- Minimize the cost of the design; which is not acceptable at all.
- Benefit from maximum space, to rent or sell after the end of work; which should be the goal of every good architect.
After many revisions and variables of the plan's layout and concept, the project was finally born from nothing — if I can say! It includes as many spaces as possible: Four apartments on each floor, an equal area for each one, with only one stair to serve it all to reduce the waste of lost space to the minimum.
The building has four stories including the ground, which was reserved for commercial purposes.
To download the Ground and Current Floors, please click on the links Ground Commercial Floor and Current Residential Floor respectively. The Downloaded files are in the .jpg file format only. The .dwg format file is only available upon request.
The three remaining floors are indeed for housing, with slight modifications in the external shape for architectural purposes (...)
Each apartment area equals 130 meters sq. approx. and benefits from three bedrooms, one large living area, and a wide kitchen with a dining corner. The project was fully designed, using rendered presentations, in addition, of course, to the permit documents which include all the related drawings for the building. (The execution files are not included)
A total cost of 3,750 US $ was for the CAD documents for the formal permit folder (design + drafting) and two rendered presentations with mental ray / 3DS Max Design.
Technical Note concerning the Architectural Project:
- If you liked the rendering of this project, the render settings are available to download here as a .rps file including all the illumination parameters and other useful settings; It can be loaded into your scene by selecting it when prompted to do so in the Render Setup dialogue window within the rendering menu.
Good to note, that like-real rendered views are nowadays an important component of architectural projects. Because of their ability to preview the final output of any specific project without getting involved in the construction phase and prevent the mistakes that usually occur in the exterior setup.
- The Lighting used here is the Daylight from the command panel → systems → Daylight, plus an individual Omni light to enlighten the dark zone in the shoot. You will also find within the download a .dwg format file including all the floor levels and the 3d model of the project.
- Tip: Try to import the 3d file onto the 3ds Max Design application and render it for yourself, using the .rps file provided above. Enjoy and share with us the results! Good Luck!
Nadim Maani
Hello,
from discussing cutting-edge architectural trends to analyzing iconic structures, and home improvement topics, my articles delve into the intricacies of design, offering thought-provoking perspectives and practical tips.
So, welcome and visit my blogs today; I'm sure you will find what you are looking for!
