The Dwelling in the Quarry
|
The theme of this studio was “dwellings”, and the brief was to select, in groups at first, a site in Tripoli, in the north of Lebanon, or in its suburbs. Each group had to analyze the site and the area around it physically, geographically, economically, demographically, socially, etc... The next step was to individually design a certain number of dwellings after having identified a residential need, a target audience etc...
The group I was a part of selected the town of Ras Masqa, on the outskirts of Tripoli. Like many small towns and villages, it suffers from losing most of its young people to the city. Due to the lack of work opportunities in the village most young people choose to work in the big cities. Another reason these young people choose to also live in the city is the lack of affordable modern housing. According to the surveyed townspeople, most people end up renting or buying apartments in the rapidly growing developments on the highways leading into the city. Although these apartments are not of high quality or spacious area, the deciding factor is their affordability, whereas the town houses are too large for young couples or a person living alone, and the villas are all too expensive. The site selected for the interventions is a hill side overlooking the village and the sea. It is the location of an abandoned quarry which had disfigured a whole section of the hill side. The quarry structure still sits on the site. My approach to the project was through the mentality of rebuilding, both physically and metaphorically. The aim was, on the one hand, to provide modern affordable living and at the same time undo the damage that the quarry had done by stripping the site of “life”, to rebuild the site and make it safe for families and children. The design approach was to rebuild the site with a 3D grid, and thus the introduction of a single modular unit. The different possible combinations of units will result in a variety of prototype typologies of residences. The quarry structure itself was also intervened on by renovating it and reprogramming it into a public library and the open space in front of it as a children’s playground, as though the quarry was trying to redeem itself by nurturing life. |