Lebanese Architecture Club & KED
THE LEBANESE ARCHITECTURE CLUB IS A YOUTH-LED ORGANIZATION FOUNDED IN 2014, WITH A VISION TO DEVELOP A LEADING COMMUNITY OF YOUNG ACTIVE ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS IN LEBANON.
Under these 3 main pillars, education, social impact, and youth development, the club works to provide students and recent graduates with a platform to expand their learning experience beyond the classroom setting.
Since 2015, the club has been supported by MENA Design Research Center. By providing a space for meetings and events and regular consultancy, MENA DRC allowed the club to develop and build its own network. The club engages in various projects and collaborations with leading organizations locally and internationally to respond to social and environmental challenges in Lebanon such as the influx of refugees, lack of public spaces, and the waste management crisis. Such projects include Bourj Hammoud Neighborhood Upgrading, a project initiated by UN-Habitat Lebanon. The team implemented sustainable solutions to improve the conditions of selected neighborhoods in Beirut on an architectural and urban scale while involving the local community.
In addition, the club hosts various activities and events, such as the annual Entrepreneur Architect conference during Global Entrepreneurship Week, Sketch your City, and several workshops and lectures with leading architects from Beirut. With the support of the club, members have been given the chance to participate in international programs such as the annual architecture congress at Maltepe University in Istanbul and Loyac Homes in Jordan.
LEBANESE ARCHITECTURE CLUB & KED
In October 2015, after MENA DRC’s decision to take on KED as BDW2016’s home, the Lebanese Architecture Club took part in the initial study of the project. Both organizations agreed that this would be a good opportunity for the young members to learn how to develop a real project, which is also aligned with two of the club’s pillars: education outside the classroom and social impact. It also provided the members with critical input by professional architects and a chance to collaborate with other designers.
The initial phase of the project included various site visits and survey drawings of the building. After careful analysis, the team studied different aspects of the project, taking into consideration the various challenges and constrictions as well as the needs of the organizers, the exhibitors, and the visitors.
The team had to familiarize themselves through personal research about sustainability in design, which involved a hands-on experience and experimentation with locally sourced materials. The final proposal was then delivered alongside technical drawings and the bill of quantities to the MENA DRC partners to build on for the second phase of development. As part of the project, there were different sessions with the Beirut Design Week team for feedback, open presentations with the main BDW partners, a session with theOtherDada team - the sustainability consultant partner of BDW2016 - a sustainability and design session with Robert Wittkuhn, and a presentation skills session with Asil Sidahmed.
The team members come from different backgrounds in architecture, interior architecture, landscape design, and lighting design. The following members were the KED team: Abbas Sbeity, Cynthia Mattar, Malak Rahal, Katia Zahwi, Mohamad Kahil, Sally Itani, Rabih Koussa, Dana Harakeh, Ali Abbas Ahmadi, Lara Wehbi, Judy Abi Rustom, Moustafa Kridly, Ramona Abdallah, Nada Rahal, and Romy Bechara.
For more info about the club: https://www.facebook.com/archclubleb