Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut

Selected in an international invited competition, the Olayan School of Business results from focused attention on its program, the production and the transmission of knowledge, the quality of its interior life, and the specific particularities of the school, its personality, and its people.

The building includes, first, a large green oval carefully located on the axis of existing steps that will become a major access to the sea, connecting students from the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, and beyond to the Corniche’s elevated edge. Second, the design creates an L-shaped four-story building with a traversable ground plane consisting of four enclosed pieces. These are grouped around the School’s central space, a triangular open courtyard. Porous and transparent, this floor promotes collegiality, containing the school’s lobby, auditorium, cafÈ and terrace, as well as student facilities, mailboxes, and related social programs.

To clarify way-finding and the building’s legibility, the undergraduate education facilities are located on the second floor, graduate education, the MBA program, on the third, and the Executive Education program on the fourth floor, which also contains the Dean’s Office in its corner. The triangular courtyard joins these three levels, and each overlooks the space, enriching it with their different lives.

The image of the building is one of vernacular precedent and contemporary vision. The “hanging” façade, made of pre-cast blocks replicates the warmth of the local Forni limestone present in the campus, while the openings of the screen-like skin recall the wooden mashrabiya that are characteristic of the region. The facade is arranged in deliberate patterns that relate to the varying needs for light and view within the interior programs. The openings in the screen are tighter on the lower floors to provide shading for classrooms, and become larger towards the top of the building to capture views of the Mediterranean from faculty offices.