Buildings
Hadid to Build International Affairs Institute in Lebanon
(archrecord.construction.com - 03/27/2006)
By Seif
El-Rashidi
Zaha Hadid Architects has won an international
competition for a building to house the Issam Fares Institute
of Public Policy and International Affairs at the American
University of Beirut. The school is Hadid's alma mater. The
Institute, founded in 2004, is an international think-tank
for Middle Eastern affairs.
The competition called for a contemporary
structure that would fit in with the landmarks of the century-old
campus, located in the heart of the city on a site that slopes
down to the Mediterranean.
The six-level building has been conceived
to reflect the undulating topography of the site, and the
existing network of pathways around it. Its upper levels,
comprising researchers' offices, seminar rooms, and the main
reading space, extend over the site's boundaries. Bridges,
running through the building's atrium, connect the third and
fourth stories. In order to keep the academic space's quiet,
the main auditorium and its amenities have been located underground.
The 21,500-square-foot building is expected
to be complete by October 2008.
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