Two Houses for Two Brothers

Jezzine, Lebanon

The vernacular Lebanese house form - a rectangular stone box with a hipped roof - was the starting point for these two summer houses set on an old olive orchard in the mountains above Sidon.

Using one stone material for both the roof and the exterior walls reinforces the house as a diagram of this traditional form, while a large cutout corner of the building lined in stained cedar is a modern gesture toward site conditions and the service area. The secondary skin of glass windows and doors moves independently of the masonry walls and creates a play of shadows across the facades.