Electricité du Liban Headquarters

Notes

The team won the competition in 1965*, construction started in 1967 and ended in 1972. By locating the main public area under the building, open to a piazza, not only did the team offer the neighborhood an interesting urban space, but a view to the sea as well. That was achieved with a remarkable structure consisting of 4 porticos in prestressed concrete, 14-meter span, proposed by Joseph Nassar, the team engineer. Given the large spans, a free partitioning of the floors was possible. On the southern sunny side, the building carries a large and deep claustra veil, contributing to its lightness. In the execution phase, structural engineer Noël Abouhamad was called in for the calculation of the precast slabs, a field he had experimented in since the late 1950s. (George Arbid)

*Results announced on 12 April 1965. Among the competitors were architects Henri Edde, Pierre El Khoury and Kazim Kenan. Renowned Italian architect Gio Ponti was in the jury. According to Jean-Noël Conan and Pierre Neema, and due to a complaint by Henri Eddé, the Order of Engineers and Architects tried to stop the building because of the presence of Conan (a foreigner) in the team. The project was delayed by 9 months but ended up being built.

Sources

Pierre Neema / Jean-Noël Conan / Joseph Nassar / Noël Abouhamad

Pedro Khoury

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