SC House

  • Akoura, Lebanon

    Location:

    Akoura, Lebanon
  • 1,700 sqm

    Area:

    1,700 sqm
  • Completed 2010-2012

    Status:

    Completed 2010-2012
  • Type

    Residential
  • Consulting Interior Architect

    Rania Sabbagh
  • Consulting Structural Engineer

    Esmat Elhachem
  • Built Area

    450 sqm
  • Consulting Mechanical Engineer

    Roger Kazopoulo
  • Project Manager

    LAYOUT Contracting and Consulting
  • Consulting Electrical Engineer

    Gilbert Tambourgi
  • General Concrete Contractor

    LAYOUT Contracting and Consulting
  • General Finishing Contractor

    LAYOUT Contracting and Consulting
  • Photography

    Iwan Baan / Ieva Saudargaite / Tony Elieh
  • Client

    Private

Clad in local stone mounted on concrete walls, the 450sqm SC villa was imagined as though its outer skin had been torn from the mountain it seems to resemble.

Located in the mountains at an altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level, this house is perched on a cliff edge. It was designed for a client who was seeking a break from the city. Only the façade overlooking the drop is entirely open. Inside, the sensation of looking upward is emphasized, only surrounding peaks are framed by the view, erasing all visual connection with the ground. A large central patio concentrates these tensions and amplifies the surroundings.

  • Diagram
    Diagram
  • Model 1
    Model 1
  • Model 2
    Model 2
  • Model 3
    Model 3

Although it is inaudible from the exterior of the house, the sound of a nearby brook can be heard quite clearly inside.

The house was developed around the idea of a sounding board, as a volume that somehow enlarges space and sound. Its apparent proximity to the sky and the clouds render it monolithic, unreal. It seems as though it emerges from the mountain itself.

Videos

  • Bauwelt - 2012

    Bauwelt - 2012

    Youssef Tohme interviewed by Bauwelt in 2012 on the USJ Project in Beirut.

Publications

  • L'Orient-Le Jour - June 2015

    ""La médaille de l’urbanisme" was awarded to Youssef Tohme. Another milestone in the career of this architect who refuses to stop and instead continues to rise." Read More
  • Bauwelt - April 2015

    “Youssef Tohme is rooted in Lebanon. Beirut’s current construction boom is generating a welcome boost for its smaller builders. This is something he considers part of today’s urban and rural landscape.” Read More
  • D'architectures - April 2014

    “Architecture in conflict with nature. Effectively a challenge to the outdoor space, necessarily separated and so will engender further exchanges with the inside. At first sight, within its surroundings, Villa SC reveals a disorder of presence.” Read More
  • Build - February 2012

    “The next dilemma... The aim is not so much to simply turn the wheel faster, but out of a self-imposed commitment. A commitment that manifests itself in a form language, and takes into account technical possibilities with a sense of humanity and ecological value.” Read More
  • World Environment - 2011

    “It all takes personal initiative. Key people with personal initiatives create super impacts that affect us for generations to come. Youssef Tohme is such a person.” Read More