LIVE SUSTAINABLE- LIVE SLOW: My project

Today we are experiencing an increasing change of dynamics in urban conditions, therefore increasing stress and ailments and decreasing human interaction. Every medium of transport and interstitial moment between two locations, activities or conditions have been shrunk down to only the bare necessities. High-speed, high- rise, high-ways all contribute to this fast-paced, over dynamic lifestyle. On our site specifically, the dynamics of the fast paced Damascus road and increasing high-rise uncharacterized residential buildings abruptly collides with the SLOW life inside the block just Southeast of the site. Inside the block, one experiences many deviations on his/her path until the destination is reached. Each deviation is an activity, a chance to interact with one’s surroundings. The aim of our project is to counteract this fast-paced phenomenon and design for a slow lifestyle that provides intricate relationships within the scale of the building, being sustainable on a social level. The concept of living slow is further emphasized by providing farming as a complementary program. The farming takes place on the ground floor, integrated with a public program, communal farming floors, and more individualized farming patches next to the rooms. Awareness of where and how one’s food is produced, and promoting local food consumption under the SLOW food campaign also complements the social sustainability in the project by bringing students of different social backgrounds under one objective which is food production, which also aids in financing part of the boarding cost. The different programs in the building are integrated and linked in a way that promotes social interaction. The shifting arrangements of girls’ rooms are interconnected by passageways and exterior stairs on one side and linked to the boys’ rooms with gathering and working spaces that overlook and connect with catwalks and an internal staircase. At any point of the project, the resident is able to engage, connect, overlook, and interact with other residents. Sustainability over time has acquired different meanings on different levels. Different areas of our project are not only designed to meet technical sustainability requirements but they also promote it on a larger scale.











Reference:
Competition Project Presented by Sara Abu Saleh, Balsam Madi, and Aline Haddad to the Order of Engineers.