The Elevated Promenade

illustrarch Team30 May 20201 Mins read216

Riwa Karanouh

Beirut, Lebanon

2020

@riwa.karanouh

From an urban lens, various points were explored to read the social interactions present on Adib Ishaak street , Beirut Lebanon. From considering the wideness of the pavements to drawing relationships between the pedestrian’s pace and vehicular flow, to also allocating the current visual patterns along the street and to finally study the effect of lighting, an informality was recognized. I’ve realized that people tend to use the broader side of the corners as a social gathering spot. For the reason, of it being wider than the pavements and allowing pedestrians to move at a slower pace. Contrary to the fast movement of the pedestrians, my design aims to slow down people’s pace. The idea was to create the right atmosphere and conditions for slowing time and fostering profound, meaningful experiences.

Connecting all street corners, that are neighboring the site formed a pathway. Therefore, my horizontal intervention was created by the path itself and by using three main verbs that guided my design: which are “slow down,” “segment,” and “widen.” The path on my site formed segmented enclosed communal spaces accommodating different users. The notion of slowing down and widen was translated by elevating the pathway to create a high green roof that, in return, connects the users to the roof of the structure, allowing them to have a walking journey. To go vertically, the idea of having a walkable roof was kept. However, it was redesigned to form an elevating promenade that fosters many activities.

This promenade created external green public spaces and, in return, formed private offices. The flexibility of the promenade is external and internal. That is translated into having the office’s floor plan as one big space and privatized if needed by folding panels. The whole structure opens up discreetly to the street level while fully opening up towards the green roof. However, the roof becomes also a façade that creates internal office spaces such as planted patios varying in heights. Hence, the outer façade is the opaque envelope of the promenade, the inner façade is fully projecting out, and the roof is the communication between both.