The Kink project is a reflection of the slippery path of Mar Mekhayel
and the daily routine of circulation of pedestrians throughout the area.
At an urban scale analysis, one could notice the diversity of areas and
districts around Mar Mekhayel, and how these districts belong to a
unified category that defines them, ex: Beirut Port ( commercial),
Charles El Helou Station(commercial), Gemayze( commercial, residential),
etc.Thus, leaving Mar Mekhayel behind as an un identified area that
seeks an identity. And through analysis, it is quite noticeable that
throughout history the area had a commercial imprint, and it was once a
primary vein of the city that linked it all together. Therefor, we found
that this problematic, would only be solved by linking the city , or at
least the main vivid districts surrounding Mar Mekhayel through a
project that contains all the needs and wants of each area, including
Mar Mekhayel its self. Moving on to a more immediate setting analysis, a
certain fabric had to be maintained that would make the project a part
of the area and not an alien or an outcast. From that point on, the
generics above had been created which illustrate various spatial
conditions that exists in Mar Mekhayel and can be experienced while
moving around the area . From the Generics we moved on to the
metamorphosis of the spatial conditions from a simple generic form into
an actual space that exists inside our project. Overlapping of generic
models helped us create these spaces again, and extensions of vertical
and horizontal elements that formed these spaced aided in connection the
project all together. Taking into consideration 5 different approaches
from the neighboring districts, the project would open up at different
levels of generosity. By that, we believe that through a program of
needs and wants, and a structure of a continuing urban fabric, Mar
Mekhayel would once again be alive, as a the connecting vein of the
city.
