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My Architectural Projects at a Glance (1) | Best of Architech Studios
Foreword from "My 101 Portfolio"
In this post, I'm gonna make a round-up or so, on several architectural projects I did prepare, execute, or just collaborated on in my professional career, along with more than 15 years of self-employed in my own office Architech Studios.
- Read more: Have a look at my 101 Portfolio-Page inside my blog, because this is gonna be a supplement to what will come next.
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| Projects in a Glance, Banner by: 101 Architech Archive © 2020 |
During this time, I worked as a Designer on many projects, while I just drafted some others. Even I cannot refuse to work on drafting drawings, but typically, every Architect prefers to manage the whole thing from A to Z. And don't ask me why! Because it's a matter of instinct or what!...
Anyway, in the stage that was before the opening of my private office, I worked in many companies and experienced several important projects that were in progress at that time. I will note especially the Officer Club in Beirut, today's Monroe Hotel on the city seafront (or the New Beirut Cornice) |
| The Monroe Hotel, where my career in Beirut started, Photo: 101Architech Archive |
It was my very debut in my career; I worked mainly as a drawing coordinator between the various trades of the project, such as electrical, mechanical, and architectural.
What I will be listing in the next section, was randomly selected in date and just for information purposes.
Some of the projects were entirely designed by myself, whereas in others I just collaborated with the rendering process or composed the external concept of the elevations.
If you are a designer, you will surely get what I meant by collaborating on a part of the project concept, and not the complete thing, which is a very important factor in teamwork. In fact, when you work within a contractor company or else, you have to deal with the teamwork process and respect the hierarchy of job management individually for each project to succeed.
That being said, let us start by glancing at those projects in the hope of being helpful and profitable in sharing such valuable and personal documents. I first categorized the listing, as I divided the items into two sections: the fully-designed projects and the partially-designed projects.
My Fully-Designed Projects (Architectural Works)
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| Lot #115 Elevations, Photo: 101 Architech Archive, © Copyright Reserved |
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| Ground Floor for Lot #115, Photo: 101 Architech Archive |
As you will see, usually the architect tends to always win the honor of designing his project alone, and avoid design teamwork, unless the work requires specific studies such as structural design or electro-mechanical studies. Actually, the projects were designed to fit the owner's needs in the first place, then came the challenge of mixing the beneficial factor with the beauty of the architectural lines.
And that is exactly where the Architect may succeed or fail.
The first construction documentation might be a clear example of what it precedes in terms of mixing modern architecture with the constraints of adopting the Typical Traditional Lebanese Architecture.
115, Zgharta-Mtewleh Project ID
- Area_Built: Total Area built as per Permit Folder equals 551 sqm.
- Type of Construction: Private, Residential
- Location: 115- Koura, Lebanon
- Architectural Style Used in the Construction: Lebanese Traditional Architecture, in addition to the modern interior concept
- Documents Submitted: Permit Folder which includes all the mandatory documents (All levels floors, 2 sections, 2 elevations, mass plan, sewer water treatment layout)
- Additional Documents: None.
- Issue_Date: December 2009
- Owner_Name: Mr. Moussa Murad
- Issuer: Tarek Mansour, Civil Engineer | Nadim Maani, Architect
- Cost: As per Syndicate Pricing
- Status: Executed, Completed
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| The Current Floor as designed for the b/403 Lot BSARMA Building, Photo: 101Architech Archive |
The second randomly chosen project is a housing medium-class building; Less than having a deluxe finish but more than commercial, this construction is a perfect choice for average-income people and newly-wed couples to start a new life together as a family...
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| The related elevations of 403/B Lot SARMA, Photo: 101Architech Archive |
403/B, Bsarma- Koura Project ID
- Area_Built: With about 190 sqm per floor, and 1 Apartment per floor, it is the ideal choice for small families with a calm and peaceful olive trees environment.
- Type of Construction: Housing, Residential, Commercial
- Location: 403/B-Bsarma, Koura - Lebanon
- Architectural Style Used: Modern-inspired style
- Documents Submitted: Permit Folder which includes all the mandatory documents (All levels floors, 2 sections, 2 elevations, mass plan, sewer water treatment layout)
- Additional Documents: None.
- Issue_Date: April 2015
- Owner_Name: Mr. Salim Boulos Salim
- Issuer: Elias Sleiman, Civil Engineer | Nadim Maani, Architect
- Cost: Unspecified
- Status: On hold, Delayed
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| One of the submitted views, rendered by 3DS Max design-mental ray engine, Photo: 101Architech Archive 2012, © All rights reserved to the Author |
Next, we will hit another private residence, or villa, also designed by adopting the same Lebanese Traditional Architecture spirit.
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| 1401- Deddeh Ground Floor, Photo: 101Architech Archive |
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| Suggested Elevations of the Residence, 1401- Deddeh, Photo: 101Architech Archive |
1401, Deddeh- Koura Project ID
- Area_Built: With about 450 sqm total areas, distributed over 3 floors, we can say that it is a somewhat big area to manage within a lot of about 1225 sqm in total, taking into consideration the space left for landscaping around the residence.
- Type of Construction: Private, Residential
- Location: 1401- Deddeh, Koura - Lebanon
- Architectural Style Adopted in the Construction: Mostly the Lebanese Traditional Architectural style was adopted all over the residential building.
- Documents Submitted: Permit Folder which includes all the mandatory documents (All levels floors including the roof floor, 2 sections, 2 elevations, mass plan, and sewer water treatment layout)
- Additional Documents: 2 perspective views rendered with mental ray.
- Issue_Date: November 2012
- Owner_Name: Mr. Saad Elias Saad
- Issuer: Wassim Semaan, Civil Engineer | Nadim Maani, Architect
- Cost: As per Syndicate Pricing
- Status: On hold, Delayed
What will come next, is by far a masterpiece in conception and design, at least in my vision. Even if it didn't reach its phase of execution and is still in the pre-project stage, unfortunately, it is a combination of commercial and retail buildings, offices, and malls.
The design was ready to be transformed into shop drawings but at the very last moment, the owner changed his mind I really don't know what happened, and for some unknown reasons, I got informed via the civil engineer about his desire to delay the submission a bit and it still on-hold till the day.
What makes this project so special to me is that I used a logical theory to generate the concept related to a method I developed and improved later on based on some practical studies that demonstrate its efficacy in the field of construction.
- Read more: Enlarge your knowledge about this method and go to the post 2 Basics When Starting Your New Architectural Projects previously published.
I will share hereby the basement layout for its importance in the concept, in addition to the Ground floor, the mall level, and the current office floor. In the end, the elevations will clearly explain the concept I worked on.
Note that the drawings are still in an early stage and need to be revised and cannot be used under any conditions as execution drawings.
3528, Zgharta Project ID
- Area_Built: Iskandar Center, The Draft. Overview of the exploited surfaces:
Initial land area (before planning decree) = 667.48 sqm
Area of the land after planning decree ~ 584.50 sqm
Exploitation area per horizontal projection plan: 60% on the first 2 plans ~ 350 sqm
→ we used approximately 315 sqm (for the ground floor)
→ we used approximately 343 sqm (for the first floor)
Exploitation area over plan: 30% on the other floors ~ 175.3 sqm
→ 168.2 sqm were used for floors 2,3,4, and 5.
→ we used 175 sqm on floor 6.
The initial total of area exploited = 2.7, which makes 1578.15 sqm.
→ we have the total exploited Area = 315 + 343 + (168.2 * 4) + 175 ~ 1506 sqm.
- Type of Construction: Public, Commercial, Retail
- Location: 3528- Zghata - North Lebanon
- Architectural Style Adopted: Modern, Classic
- Official Documents Submitted: None
- Documents for Client Approval: All Plans Levels, 2 Elevations
- Issue_Date: Unspecified
- Owner_Name/ In-charge: Eng. Samir Badoui
- Issuer: Samir Badoui, Civil Engineer | Nadim Maani, Architect
- Cost: Unspecified
- Status: Cancelled
This is the latest design I have made after a long period of downtime and halting all my activities due to address changes and other main reasons; This small project was like a test to check if my ability to create designs and concepts is still working... and the result gave me the right answer: yes, it is!...
Do you want to see the result I am talking about? So, Okay!... Here it is!...
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| The Private Residence in New Washington, Aklan, The Philippines, Photo: 101 Architech Archives 2020, © All rights reserved |
So what do you think about it?
I did design recently a small house, specially customized for a family composed of one couple and one child. The concept was presented as more than a sketch, if I can say, because the execution drawings are still on hold until the final approval.
Good to mention that my sister-in-law and her husband are the owners of that first house that I designed and intend to execute in the Philippines.
Actually, it is a private small residence house composed of two floors: on the ground, there is the reception area in addition to the dining room, and of course the kitchen with its storage. A guest room with a toilet is also appended to the composition. The first level, however, holds two bedrooms, one as a suite with a toilet, the other smaller but also equipped with a small bathroom.
The roof is also managed to be utilized as a family space with built-in seats and a wooden pergola, the whole integrated within a landscaped area with banana pots, the favorite plant in the Far East region.
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| The Ground Floor is nicely managed to benefit from each space, including the outside. |
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| The maximum area required was 200 sqm, the First Floor was reduced accordingly. |
The total area of the lot was approximately 221 sqm, which makes the design more complicated and delicate, compared to the required area of the New Project to be. As we have the right measurement tool, we can now have more information about the Construction as follows:
1002, Aklan-PH Project ID
- Area_Built: With a 221 sqm total lot area, the building has a projected surface of about 163.5 sqm, which makes the task of creating a living space more complicated.
- Type of Construction: Private, Residential
- Location: 1002- New Washington, Aklan - The Philippines (PH)
- Architectural Style Adopted in the Construction: mostly Modern style
- Official Documents Submitted: None
- Additional Documents: 2 perspective views rendered with mental ray.
- Issue_Date: June 2020
- Owner_Name: Mr. Rex Estrada and Mrs. Alma Orbita
- Issuer: Nadim Maani, Architect
- Cost: —
- Status: Awaiting Approval
Those were some of the best designs created in our studios; As I mentioned before, they were randomly selected and no filters were applied of any kind to sort them. Anyway, it will be another post to complete the list with more full-designed projects, in addition to the partially-designed or collaborative projects with other architects and designers.
So keep on getting back to my blog for more related info.
If you liked one of the designs and want to have more information concerning it or any other clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me by email or mobile at the following addresses:
- Email: info@101architechprojectsandblogs.com
- Mobile and WhatsApp: +961 3 577506
Nadim Maani
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