House in Jbeil, Restoration and Extension

The House in Jbeil is an adaptive reuse of a sericulture lodgement, a testament to silk production in Lebanon and the rise of a new class of bourgeoisie. These testimonies of the past are not to be turned into cold museums but should continue to be lively places - and the great challenge here is to combine contemporary living with the preservation of heritage.

Located within the first slopes surrounding Byblos, the living spaces are organized around a courtyard with every room attached to and revolving around it. As the starting point of the project, the courtyard controls every room - it assembles everyone.

The contemporary volume is carefully nested with the historical building. With a separation in treatment, the addition reads clearly as a clean-cut volume branching to the existing one: traditional techniques for the historical structure are matched with a contemporary steel and wood extension. The house is richer from its double identity, the serene combination of two eras, both at their full expression.