Cap Bakish settles at the crown of the hillside as a quiet architectural gesture—less an object than a continuation of the terrain. The project steps with the slope, forming a sequence of anchored volumes and open terraces that frame the distant valley. Movement unfolds as a gradual descent, where thresholds, stairs, and platforms choreograph shifting views and moments of pause. Rooted in the earth through its terracotta skin, the house balances weight and lightness, enclosure and exposure. It does not dominate the site; it completes it—an inhabited horizon where architecture and landscape become inseparable.
The project is organized into three stations along a gradual descent, following a slope that begins gently before becoming dramatically steep.
Step 1: The Double Chalet
A double chalet fans out toward the edges of the site: one duplex for Rania and Daniel, and another for Jad and Caroline. Reception areas, dining rooms, kitchens, and terraces occupy the ground level; bedrooms are arranged on the middle level; and studios, potentially privatized, are tucked beneath the pitched roofs.
Step 2: The Way Down
A meandering path tames the slope and turns the descent into an experience in itself. Along the way, a small chapel is tucked into the landscape—a place from which to contemplate the view, sit, or meditate.
Step 3: The Guest House
At the lower station, the guest house offers a simple entertainment space, an infinity pool, and an uninterrupted encounter with the view.
Materially, the project adopts a ton sur ton parti pris: layers of terracotta, brick, perforated metal, terrazzo with brick inserts, rust-colored zinc roofing, and weathered steel embedded in the landscape. Then, unexpectedly, a painting in the architect’s house appeared to echo them all.
Project Status: Ongoing.
Designed by Karim Nader, Soumer Al Kamand and Ribal Tarhini.
Lighting Design by Atelier33
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering by Bureau Elias abou Khaled
Structural Engineering by Elie Turk
Contracting by Quadrature