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Press Release

Olympea House

A' Design Award 2018 Gold Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design

14 April 2018

Olympea House by Joy Alexandre Harb
Olympea House by Joy Alexandre Harb
Olympea House by Joy Alexandre Harb
Olympea House by Joy Alexandre Harb
Olympea House by Joy Alexandre Harb

Joy Alexandre Harb · CLIENT: JYH International Architects

The Residential Villa in the mountains of Lebanon is integrated with its surrounding nature. Its design consists of 2 L-shaped structures on the ground floor, which interact together to create an internal green patio, visible from all spaces in the house. This concept was thought of in order to avoid having corridors in the house, for aesthetic reasons as well as for avoiding loss of space. A cedar tree was planted in the internal patio,it being the emblem of the country found on the national flag , becoming the heart of the house.

Press Kit

Unique Properties
Embedded within the topography, the composition is formed of 2 L-shaped structures interacting on the ground floor, creating an internal green patio that can be visible from anywhere in the house. Because of this, there are no corridors in the house.
A Cedar tree, the emblem of Lebanon, have been placed in the internal patio, being the heart of the project.
Dimensions & Packaging
The ground floor has an indoor built area of 600m2 and a terrace of 150m2.
The two basements underneath has a built area of 700m2 and a garden of 300m2.
Tags
villa, luxury, housing, architecture, design
Production Technology
the house was covered in natural stone, low emission glass, mixed with black steel for the pergolas and fireplaces
Design Challenge
The hardest part was to execute the project with having minimum impact on the existing land
Project Duration
The project started in April 2016 and will finish in October 2018
Operation Flow
The building offers comfort through its generous interior space distribution, the luxurious views, and the high end quality of the materials used for the construction.The heated flooring and the low emission glass provide an efficient heating and cooling system that allows heat exchange between the ground and the rest of the space
Research
The study started by merging two L-shaped structures to create an internal green patio, while having the basement floors embedded into the mountain in order to merge the building with its surroundings.
Inspiration
While i first visited the site, i was amazed by the beauty of the mountain, and i wanted the have the least intervention possible. This is when we decided to embed the structure into the mountain and keep the surroundings as is.
Image Credits
Joy alexandre Harb / Architect / Co-founder of JYH International ARchitects

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