Nabil Gholam Architects' unbuilt proposal for a future bank headquarters competition, a.spire, has been named the winner of the Office-Future project category at World Architecture Festival 2016. The project, designed for the Mar Mikhael neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon, is a flexible intervention meant to both meet the client's needs in the present day and adapt to its long-term evolution.

© nabil gholam architects

Nabil Gholam Architects' unbuilt proposal for a future bank headquarters competition, a.spire, has been named the winner of the Office-Future project category at World Architecture Festival 2016. The project, designed for the Mar Mikhael neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon, is a flexible intervention meant to both meet the client's needs in the present day and adapt to its long-term evolution.
The exterior of the proposal is deceptively simple, housing a complex layering of working and living spaces on the interior. The core of the project's design philosophy is the duality of inhabitants and neighbors, both of whom are served with several levels of private and public spaces.

© nabil gholam architects

Most visitors, clients, and employees will first experience the headquarters on the ground floor, which serves as the dominant interface between the Tower and surrounding neighborhood. The second tier is a raised ground floor, which is exclusive to pedestrians and fosters ...