Building Ali Chatila

Notes

The Ali Chatila Building represents well the dozens of apartment buildings designed by J. P. Karam between 1950 and 1976. It displays many of the formal devices dear to the engineer-architect, such as clear geometric shapes enriched by textures and vivid colors. In this instance, a concrete wall runs the full height of the building, separates the eastern and western sides, and helps resolve the change of directions due to plot configuration. The southern side, mainly occupied by living rooms offers a horizontal reading thanks to the stacking of terraces and uninterrupted horizontal handrails. The eastern side, however, is treated differently. It is presented as an abstract composition of alternated vertical and horizontal elements, devised out of simple functional features such as bedroom closets and parapets. The playful exercise is enriched by the alternated texture of the bush-hammered concrete for the closet back walls and sides, and the colored pâte-de-verre for the parapets. This repetitive pattern is balanced by a claustra wall in red hollowed-out concrete, which seems to slide in front of the eastern terrace, as it partly protects it from the sun. The building stands next to the Saleh Chatila Building, also designed by Joseph Philippe Karam.

Sources

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