Project Description
Beirut February 2016 – the construction of the residential tower The Cube in Beirut is finalised. Orange Architects designed the iconic tower for the Lebanese development corporation Masharii.
The Cube is located in a prominently visible location on Plot 941 in Sin el Fil, an eastern district of Beirut, Lebanon. The concept of the 50-metre-high tower is simple, but extraordinarily effective: ‚MAXIMISE‘ – making optimal use of the client’s wishes, the potential of the site, the local building code and the fantastic views of Beirut and the Mediterranean.
The Cube adds a whole new aspect to the concept of the high-rise, or the architecture of towers. Not a repetition of a singular floor plan, but a unique and iconic sculpture of individual villas, all with perfect views of the cityscape of Beirut. The rotation of the volumes on each level offers residents magnificent outdoor areas on the roof of the apartment below, as well as panoramic windows up to 12 metres wide. Each level consists of one or two apartments. The individual apartments have the fabulous opportunity to enjoy a 360° panorama of Beirut.The design with the 14 stacked and rotated floor plans creates 19 attractive apartments in total, ranging in size from 117 to 234 m², with fluid spaces, large balconies and wall-to-wall window frames. With its freestanding situation on the edge of the city, the vibrant city is your personal wallpaper, day and night.
Due to the fixed core with lifts and staircases at the heart of the building, there are no constraints on the layout of the apartments. The floors run straight from the core to the façades, which are composed on each floor of two supporting concrete girders and two panoramic window frames, rotated 90 degrees per level. Both the crossing girders and the core serve to stabilise the tower, a particularly challenging task in a seismologically active area.The white-coated girder walls, which are perforated, strongly define the appearance of both the exterior and the interior of the building. The parking garage is located underground in three layers and partly set into the adjacent hill. On the ground floor, the recessed space for the lobby is covered by a spectacular cantilevered volume, marking the generous entrance to the Cube.
