Snøhetta Wins BLF HQ Competition

The headquarters, which is Snøhetta's first commission in Lebanon, aims at creating three new entities, per the architects:

A New Workspace
More than just achieving the required number of work spaces, the goal is to create a community. The working environment is focused around the specific exterior spaces that are carved from the built volume. These terraces become the social hubs around which the working environment is organized, forming the primary organization for all workspaces.

A New Public Space
Our design clearly articulates a public and private domain. The public domain forms the foundation of the new headquarters building, containing the essential public functions and facilities. This public base is connected to the street and surrounding urban context. Maintaining a high degree of permeability at street level is an essential element for the project, ensuring connectivity across the site and with the wider neighbourhood.

A New Sustainable Figurehead
Achieving a development that is sustainable is paramount in responding to future user requirements. The parameters for sustainability will evolve with the user requirements and project specific criteria. The overriding factors will be ensuring: Economic Sustainability - the project must be fundamentally economically viable; Social Sustainability - the project must give back to the city and complement the existing urban context; and Environmental Sustainability - the project must respond to the environment both in regard to energy consumed and with regard the embodied energy of the structure.