Aqua taste (seafood restaurant)

Beirut Arab university, Faculty of Architecture, Tripoli

Project idea

The project aims to create a seafood restaurant, “aqua taste”, on a unique site located in El Heri, Chekka, Lebanon, a city known for the proximity of the sea to the mountain.
Under the theme of navigate within humane centered design, the project focuses on the form as well as the function of the restaurant, in order to offer the user’s best experience.

While walking through the site and analyzing it’s points (strength and weakness) , a strange sound coming from the seaside region attracted me, and here started my philosophical idea which is the movement of the seagull in its flight, this movement inspired me to create a harmonious and fluid form, translating its gliding, flapping and rowing motion with its balanced wings into a ,fluid, balanced and smooth composition.
By using Oscar Niemeyer design theory, who believed that buildings must have more curves to be well integrated in nature, the project relies on curves, in addition to the use of brutal concrete and white color, as Oscar Niemeyer’s style.
I chose the style of this pioneer after getting impressed by the magnificence of Rachid Karami fair, Tripoli, Lebanon a very old building and landmark of the city, which is nowadays neglected despite people efforts to restore it.

Project description

After generating the project’s idea and philosophy, the next target was translating it by splitting the building visually into two connected parts, each one represents a seagull wing, with a proportional degradation among the slope of the land, the first representing the smoothness of its flight, and the second degrading on different levels representing his wing structure.

Functionally, The project has two main components: dining spaces, kitchen and preparation areas equivalent to 1/3 of the whole restaurant.
Three stories were divided, each dedicated to a specific type of users. The ground floor is consisted of the main entrance and the main dining areas for groups, couples, and friends.
On the other hand the basement floor includes the kitchen connected to the service areas, and the dining area for families with an indoor/outdoor playground for kids. Finally the first floor contains a café and bar. The restaurant capacity is 50 to 80 persons.

Technical information

The land has a slope of 7 meters which gave the chance to invest the sea view in different levels through the building and the landscaping.
The site orientation was very unique, so the sea is approximately on the north, therefore the seaside facade doesn’t require any shading devices and people can enjoy the view without any disturbance.
The main materials used were brutal concrete on walls, concrete pavement, insulating glass on the seaside elevation to insure transparency between inside and outside, white plaster for interior finishes and white flooring on the terraces, respecting Oscar Niemeyer style.