Untitled Document

The proposed House of Art and Culture will function as a machine that produces interaction between people (general public and artist alike) and space. Like a machine, the house is made up of moving parts, the central piece being the main performance hall. The walls and seats of the performance hall can be re-arranged to create either an Italian style theater or a larger convention hall as the walls can be retracted (as in a sliding door) to connect the performance hall with the main lobby area.

The main circulation that connects all the program elements unfolds within the atrium space. The circulatory movement is created through a series of stairs that connect continuously from the building's main entrance and fi nish at a green roof terrace where their function continues to evolve as they are then utilized as seats for relaxing, sipping a coffee, gazing upon Mount Lebanon, the sea, and surrounding panorama.