Conceived as an extension of the successful O’Ciel wedding venue, the architecture of this resort is a study in returns and variations on an existing geometry of white platonic forms, alignments and axial symmetry in a heavily planted environment. Located on a hill in the area of Dbaye, the site has an exceptional view on the Mediterranean and the Bay of Jounieh. In addition to a 1000-people wedding hall, the project also includes an open-air night club, a swimming pool, a restaurant, bungalows, a multipurpose dome, a sports center, and a parking catering for 300 cars. The main programs of the project are organized around a central circulation spine that swoops down the hill towards the sea.
The banquet hall comes as a continuation of the pure structures on site. Located on the highest tip of the terrain, two cantilevering rectangular platforms hold an elevated outdoor reception space that overlooks the horizon, and below, an internal 1800sqm banquet hall.
In the same logic of maintaining the alignment of the existing volumes, the night club was designed as a superposition of platforms on different levels that are oriented towards the sea. A translucent wall of white steel mesh that frames the arena holds all the structural, lighting and acoustic systems of the club.
Aligned with the edge of the cliff, at the west of the main spine of the complex, is an elongated restaurant that breaks into four terraces, allowing for all the users to benefit from an unobstructed sea view. The landscape penetrates into the internal space of the restaurant, as an existing alignment of trees makes its way through its transparent enclosure. The lightness of the structure is reinforced by foldable bay windows and an ethereal translucent roof.
As an expansion of the existing water features on site, an artificial lake serving as a water reservoir is added, pouring into a river that meanders between a multipurpose dome, bungalows, a swimming pool and a snack, breaking in its organic forms the sharp angles and abstract volumes that define the project.