T House

  • Kornet Chehouane, Lebanon

    Location:

    Kornet Chehouane, Lebanon
  • 6,250 sqm

    Area:

    6,250 sqm
  • Completed 2008-2013

    Status:

    Completed 2008-2013
  • Type:

    Residential
  • Consulting Structural Engineer

    Nabil Hennaoui S.A.L
  • Consulting Mechanical Engineer

    Roger Kazopoulo
  • Built Area

    3,000 sqm
  • Consulting Interior Architect

    Rania Sabbagh
  • Consulting Electrical Engineer

    Gilbert Tambourgi
  • Consulting Landscape Architect

    Green Studios
  • General Concrete Contractor

    Hakime Entreprise
  • General Finishing Contractor

    Khater Contracting Group
  • Photography

    Iwan Baan / Ieva Saudargaite
  • Client

    Private

Offering no impression of itself and with little reference to scale and few walls, T Villa challenges the notion of boundaries and norms in domestic space.

Perched on a steep rocky slope in an area distinguished by its pine forest and captivating views of Beirut and the sea, this house is almost invisible at surface level. Layered, it consists of three flowing expanses of inhabitable concrete. These superposed cantilevered floors support the various elements of the brief, which are tied together by an internal ramp running through the villa. Open floors are presented as horizontal incisions that lend a certain structure to the rugged surroundings. Spacious inside, the cantilevered villa projects itself into empty space. Provocative, it surprises inhabitants with its interpretation of the landscape. With no outer skin, no envelope, it seems no more than an interior, all the more stunning for the way it creates apparently seamless interaction with the exterior.

  • Basement
    Basement
  • First Floor
    First Floor
  • Ground Floor
    Ground Floor
  • Roof Plan
    Roof Plan
  • Site Plan
    Site Plan
  • Section
    Section
  • Model 1
    Model 1
  • Model 2
    Model 2
  • Model 3
    Model 3

Villa T shrugs off its surroundings. It seems to challenge the sense of dimensions and the relationship of architecture or space with its environment.

Videos

  • Bauwelt - 2012

    Bauwelt - 2012

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

Publications

  • Elle Decoration - March / April 2016

    “Villa T, a building almost without a surface, almost without walls and thus without limits. A beautiful work designed Youssef Tohme - a gem to be added to the valuable list of radical dreams made real by the master of concrete architecture.” Read More
  • Platform - January 2016

    “Provactive, it surprises inhabitants with its interpretation of the landscape. With no outer skin, no envelope, it seems no more than an interior, all the more stunning for the way it creates apparently seamless interaction with the exterior.” Read More
  • D'architectures - July / August 2015

    “On a mountainside overlooking the city, the view towards the sea impressive; with Beirut to the left and scanning to the right, northwards, up to Byblos." Read More
  • Executive Life - Summer 2015

    “A good project can’t be done without a good client. It’s always a dialogue”, Tohme says. “At the same time, there’s something interesting, which is that we know how to adapt ourselves, because we live in a society that’s always afraid of disappearing”. Read More
  • 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
  • Archistorm - May / June 2015

    “…the challenge was not to arrive at a new response to secure themselves a place in the story, but instead to ask “where do we live?” Read More
  • IW Magazine - May / June 2015

    “With no outer skin, no envelope, it seems no more than an interior, all the more stunning for the way it creates seemingly seamless interaction with the outside. It seems to run, to fly, to twist and turn, to constantly confront us with our sense of dimension and relationship with the world.” Read More
  • Domus - May 2015

    “…the family house designed by these Lebanese architects does not impose on the landscape as a volume, but rather as an architectural promenade that rests on the slope…” 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
  • 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
  • Wallpaper - September 2010

    “Tohme’s buildings blur the line between structure and sculpture, indoors and outdoors. Oriented towards a horizon: the sea, the sky, the mountains, they leave a light footprint…” Read More
  • Le Cercle - Spring 2010

    “Such a beautiful and natural sloping site calls for us to answer in a radical manner,” says Tohme. The villa acts as one theatrical stage whose total expanse is open towards the Beirut cityscape and, of course, the horizon. Read More