East Architecture Studio

11/07/2023

Casa Pinada
The house is broken down into a series of pristine volumes leveling the site, composing interior and exterior spaces in conversation with the pine forest.
Here pictured, the living room at split level, slightly elevated from the site’s natural slope.
With

23/06/2023

It was a real pleasure sharing the story behind the renovation of the Niemeyer Guest House in Tripoli with students, faculty, family and friends. The project won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in it’s 15th cycle.
A true moment of pride we shared with professor George Arbid who introduced us to the Rachid Karami Fair some twenty years ago, while students at the American University of Beirut.

11/06/2023

Casa Pinada tells the story of its land, worn by earth, stone and foliage.
The arrival moment unfolds in an immersive journey through the interiority and coexistence of the built and the natural.
With

29/05/2023

Snapshots from the Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s Winners Seminar, fueled with discussions on the social impact of architecture in the context of Oman.
Pictured here our founding partners, Nicolas Fayad and Charles Kettaneh in conversation with Meisa Batayneh - Member of the Steering Committee, David García - Award Recipient, Farrokh Derakhshani - Director of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and her Highness Princess Zahra Aga Khan.




Images courtesy of the Aga Khan Development Network

26/04/2023

We are thrilled to be collaborating with Dia Azzaoui, a pioneer of modern Arab art, on a unique in situ installation for our Capsule Retreat.

24/04/2023

19/04/2023

جایزه معماری آقاخان از جوایز مهم در حوزه معماری محسوب می‌شود. در دوره اخیر این جایزه، از میان ۴۵۰ طرح، بیست پروژه در فهرست نهایی قرار گرفت و از بین آن‌ّا شش ...

07/04/2023

It was a real pleasure conversing with on the essence of our practice, the urgency of recovery, and sharing a few thoughts on post-cataclysmic Beirut.
‘This Being Human’ is a podcast by the Aga Khan Museum and TVO. In every episode, host Abdul-Rehman Malik interviews an insightful guest about Muslim art, culture, history and society.
‘Charles Kettaneh and Nicolas Fayad are the founders of EAST Architecture Studio. Their work is innovative and intellectual, with projects that take into account local history, culture, and encourage a connection with nature. They are among the winners of the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for their renovation of The Niemeyer Guest House, a project begun by renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer as part of an international fair in Tripoli, Lebanon. They talk about what it was like to try to revitalize the vision of one of the world's most famous architects, how Lebanon's built environment has shaped the country's imagination, and they offer a vision for rebuilding Beirut in the wake of the 2020 explosion.’
Tap the link in our bio to listen to the podcast

04/04/2023

In the wake of constantly evolving tools, models have become generators to challenge the morphology of architectural disciplines, mastering the intricacies of digital capabilities and in many ways, the representation of a fragment of architecture that speaks the language of construction. Even when rendered as monochromatic, those fragments not only have a capacity for absolute abstraction, but most importantly are true, levelled, and have command over tolerances.

02/04/2023

‘Re-imaging Palestinian Modern Architectural Heritage’ is a seminar that is co-offered by Aziza Chaouni and Jens Hanssen at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design
We were honored to participate in the seminar's talk series and showcase our Niemeyer Guest House Renovation as an exemplary case study of 20th century rehabilitation of modern heritage in the Middle East, along side truly inspiring speakers.
Thank you for inviting us!
With

30/03/2023

Exploring the mediums of architectural representation as a synthetic exercise, rather than an observational one, bringing an imaginary into existence, rather than recording what already exists.
Corner detail of the gallery skylight at our Capsule Retreat in photograph, model form and sectional drawing.

23/03/2023

It was a real pleasure to share our Niemeyer Guest House Renovation with Sheyma Buali from BBC Arabic’s Art for Life for this special episode highlighting winning and shortlisted projects from the Middle East for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
Photo credit and copyright
© Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden (photographer)

21/03/2023

21/03/2023

Looking upwards and sideways through the entrance gallery at our Capsule Retreat.

16/03/2023

'In north Lebanon, two architects are rebuilding a corner of Oscar Niemeyer's international fair’.
Words by Farah-Silvana Kanaan for Kinfolk, Issue 47.
silvana
Follow the link for the full article
https://www.kinfolk.com/cult-rooms-14/

06/03/2023

Capsule Retreat
The northern facade opens up to a terraced garden overlooking the coniferous landscapes of Mount Lebanon.
Photograph by | February 2023

02/03/2023

Capsule Retreat
A light flooded basement stair in conversation with a sculpted flowerbed
Photograph by

28/02/2023

Capsule Retreat | Contain to better reveal
Our capsule retreat emerges from a process of listening to the natural and cultural environment it inhabits. Its form is rooted in our understanding of the terrain’s specificity, calling for a reduced footprint on a terraced site. While the building technique reflects on the local culture of the area, where sandstone and artisanal concrete prevail, the result is an abstract interpretation of the mountain retreat, in which domestic spaces are in direct contact with context and materiality.
Photograph by | February 2023

30/12/2022

Milestones & Journeys
2022 held wonders beyond imagination. A year that amplified our studio’s legacy with intellectual stimulation, delightful enthusiasm and humbling experiences.
But before we embark on what is ahead, we take a moment to reflect on our recent milestones.
We completed projects awaiting to be revealed and crafted inspiring schemes that we will carry with passion in the new year and beyond. We were lucky to discover diverse geographies with unprecedented excitement, met stirring individuals along the way, and immersed ourselves in uncharted environments. Naturally, we couldn’t be more honored to win this year’s Aga Khan Award for Architecture, a recognition that comes with an immense responsibility and great pride in equal measure.
The above possibilities are the result of a joint effort nurtured by our dedicated team and collaborators, visionary clients, and a resilient community who have helped magnify our work with whom we share our collective vision of building a better future.
Thank you 2022!

05/12/2022

This Being Human is a podcast by the Aga Khan Museum and TVO. In every episode, host Abdul-Rehman Malik interviews an insightful guest about Muslim art, culture, history and society. You’ll hear fascinating explorations of everything from prayer and pilgrimage to politics and pop culture, love and...

29/11/2022

Today on the podcast, East Architecture Studio is an architectural design and research collective based in Beirut. They have worked on various projects ranging from master planning to interior design with a focus on sustainability, adaptive reuse, and history.

In 2018, East Architecture Studio was chosen to renovate the 10-hectare Niemeyer Guest House in Tripoli — designed by Oscar Niemeyer between 1964 and 1975 and considered one of the Middle East’s finest examples of Modernist architecture.

This year, along with five other recipients, the project was awarded the 2020–2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture — an award that recognizes excellence in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, historic preservation, reuse and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment.

Listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts: https://portal.agakhanmuseum.org/podcasts/this-being-human/seasons/season2/episodes/s2Episode18/index.html -block

03/10/2022

25/09/2022

award-winning renovation of niemeyer guest house in tripoli  Located in Tripoli, Lebanon, this renovated guest house stands just inside an entrance to the Rachid Karami International Fair, designed by Oscar Niemeyer between 1964 and 1975. Although incomplete and derelict since the Lebanese ci...

24/09/2022

24/09/2022

The renovation project in Tripoli will share the $1 million prize with five other winners from around the world

05/09/2022

RPF . Platform Z
Our proposal for a live . work . play district in Riyadh, KSA rethinks the future of living through permeability, carefully stitching the site and its program with the surrounding urban fabric, a mixed-use of industrial and residential superblocks.
In this context, we propose to develop a green district, imagined as an "urban oasis", transforming the derelict image of the site into an ambitious sustainable strategy. A contiguous central space - The oasis itself - becomes a breathing lung for the entire project, filtering natural elements throughout the site, allowing for buildings to co-exist with a unique natural environment. Water ponds, sand dunes wind towers and mist canopies, come together to compose, connect and organize the site, strategically thickening the ground surface, in turn defined by deliberate emergences.
Building blocks with a multiplicity of programs ranging from production hubs, working facilities and living typologies populate the fringes of the oasis, hierarchically breaking down the general massing around three monumental agoras. Conceived as magnets, or attraction points, the agoras sit on water bodies, collectively immersing the architecture with the oasis, allowing for an experiential dialogue between space, nature and the imperceptible.
In collaboration with .design

29/08/2022

Studio Space 2022
Located in a rehabilitated industrial warehouse, our studio space is designed as a collective production hub that embraces openness. Here pictured, models in their finishing stage at our outdoor workshop

20/08/2022

RPF . Platform Z
Our proposal for a live . work . play district in Riyadh, KSA rethinks the future of living through permeability, carefully stitching the site and its program with the surrounding urban fabric, a mixed-use of industrial and residential superblocks.
In this context, we propose to develop a green district, imagined as an "urban oasis", transforming the derelict image of the site into an ambitious sustainable strategy. A contiguous central space - The oasis itself - becomes a breathing lung for the entire project, filtering natural elements throughout the site, allowing for buildings to co-exist with a unique natural environment. Water ponds, sand dunes wind towers and mist canopies, come together to compose, connect and organize the site, strategically thickening the ground surface, in turn defined by deliberate emergences.
Building blocks with a multiplicity of programs ranging from production hubs, working facilities and living typologies populate the fringes of the oasis, hierarchically breaking down the general massing around three monumental agoras. Conceived as magnets, or attraction points, the agoras sit on water bodies, collectively immersing the architecture with the oasis, allowing for an experiential dialogue between space, nature and the imperceptible.
In collaboration with .design