Tour Capsule Retreat, a powerfully minimalist dwelling in Lebanon

Peeking out of the coniferous forests of Mount Lebanon – within the eponymous Mediterranean nation – the spherical roof of a concrete construction hovers enticingly above the leafy foliage. Its quantity is daring, geometric and crisply outlined, and carries an intense formal articulation that implies cautious planning; embedded within the area’s historical panorama of sandstone outcrops and alpine villages, it factors to its architects’ deep sense of materiality, and affords an intriguing, purposeful ‘incompleteness’. Welcome to Capsule Retreat, the most recent residential undertaking by dynamic observe East Structure Studio.

Discover Capsule Retreat by East Structure Studio

East Structure Studio, based by Charles Kettaneh and Nicolas Fayad and a part of the Wallpaper* Architects Listing 2023, is a deft hand at constructions that join with their environment – bodily and symbolically – but really feel completely modern. Previous works embody the studio’s AlMusalla Prize 2024 win for a pavilion on the Islamic Arts Biennale in Saudi Arabia, product of indigenous date palm waste and utilizing historical weaving methods.

With Capsule Retreat, the transient was completely different: it outlined a personal residence, a getaway that additionally has area for the proprietor’s intensive artwork assortment – the house turning into an artwork piece in its personal proper.

Kettaneh and Fayad clarify: ‘The undertaking felt completely different from the start. What made it particular was the chance to interact with a website that carried such an embedded geological and cultural reminiscence, and to take action with out merely imposing a proper gesture. The shopper was deeply invested within the land itself and open to an strategy that allowed structure to emerge from the panorama relatively than dominate it. That gave us a uncommon sort of freedom: to prioritise presence over gesture, and resonance over assertion.

‘We had been excited by the prospect to design not only a home, however a retreat, a spot for artwork, reflection, and immersion in nature. It was additionally an opportunity to discover a design language that respects time as a lot as type, and that was very significant for us. What made the method notably rewarding was the shut collaboration with the area people.

‘Carpenters and stone masons from the village had been concerned all through, from shaping concrete moulds with regionally sourced wooden to crafting inside particulars. Their handprints are embedded in the home. Alongside this, we had the uncommon privilege of working with artist Dia Azzawi on a sequence of site-specific items. His sculptural roof display and crafted interventions convey a wealthy inventive layer that deepens the spatial expertise.’

A considerate piece of structure in and out, the constructing additionally options Iraqi artist and sculptor Azzawi’s bespoke, modern roof design (it subtly and cleverly hides mechanical tools). Additional parts crafted by the artist embody the skin pizza oven and the eating desk. The residence is a confluence of artwork and structure that emerged from the architects’ holistic strategy, working collaboratively with artists and craftspeople, mixing disciplines and layers of their design.

The architects say: ‘Capsule Retreat is one among our most distilled tasks; it’s each minimal and deeply textured. In some methods, it marked a departure from extra programmatically complicated or city commissions we have now labored on. Right here, the complexity lay in restraint, exploring and detailing all the chances that had been intrinsic to the materiality.

‘It additionally pushed our understanding of preservation. As an alternative of restoring an current construction, we handled the agricultural setting and its casual constructing languages as design instruments, as methods to proceed a dialog already occurring across the website. That sort of contextual subtlety makes it stand aside in our portfolio.’

Pulling on this contextual thread, the crew used concrete as their predominant materials, referencing its dominance within the surrounding area’s structure. Chrome steel additionally options prominently within the interiors.

‘Materiality is central to this undertaking. We had been drawn to concrete for each its expressive potential and its historic relevance to the area, notably in post-war, midcentury structure of the Levant. We explored concrete in all its types: easy, textured, waterwashed… but in addition performed with the combination colors and sand mixes. It allowed the fabric to exist in a number of types and for various functions, each in the home and the panorama, each as a heat home materials and tough resilient construction.’

‘The concrete was hand-mixed and forged in timber moulds created from native wooden, which was then reused for inside fittings. That course of embedded the fabric with texture, reminiscence, and locality.

‘Chrome steel launched a counterpoint, its precision and reflectivity distinction with the organicity of concrete. It was additionally a nod to the “capsule” idea, notably within the kitchen island. Collectively, these supplies allowed us to assemble an area that feels without delay grounded and experimental, the place the load of the place is current in each floor.’

Kettaneh and Fayad’s work feels powerfully minimalist, and on the identical time textured and lively – as a house ought to. They add: ‘We wished the area to evoke stillness, calm, nearly monastic readability. It’s not about minimalism in a visible sense, however relatively in the way in which the area permits consideration [on other things] – to artwork, to mild, to the shifting climate and panorama.

‘The openness of the plan, the managed palette, and the emphasis on elemental types had been all aimed toward making a sort of spatial consolation and calmness. On the identical time, the house wanted to be an area of heat and groundedness, which was amplified by the presence of the hearths, the handcrafted particulars, and the generosity of quantity.