New York-Based SOMA Architects Announces Development Milestone for One-of-a-Kind Beirut Residential Project
Developed by Zardman, Bobo commences foundation work
NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- New York-based SOMA Architects today announced that Bobo, its preeminent Beirut residential project, has reached a development milestone with the commencement of foundation work.
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It is significant in no small part because of the extensive underground excavation and advanced problem solving that was a prerequisite to reaching this stage of the development process.
Developed by Zardman, a family-owned real estate development, investment and management company, Bobo will rise in Beirut's Mar Mikhael district, adjacent to a house whose facade the development team was not permitted to demolish. To circumvent this problem, the house—at the end of a row of structures dating to the 1920s—was gutted and six floors underground were excavated.
The result is a one-of-a-kind mixed-used building that marries old and new. The innovative structure consists of a steel exoskeleton tied to a concrete core that cantilevers over the existing house without touching it.
"The challenges that were presented to our design by the necessity of keeping the facade of the house in place created an opportunity in the end. Our design for Bobo blends the old with the new in a rapidly changing neighborhood," said Michel Abboud, SOMA Architects' founder and principal. "We are thrilled with the outcome and happy to see foundation work there begin."
New York-based SOMA's design will yield 11 stories in all. There will be 13 residences—including a penthouse duplex—and retail on the ground floor.
About SOMA
International architecture firm SOMA, headquartered in New York, was founded in 2004 by Michel Abboud. With its focus on incorporating craft, digital technologies and environmental responsibility, the firm's designs and work have attracted critical acclaim for their boundary pushing nature. SOMA's work is rising around the world today—in New York, Dubai, Lebanon and other international markets—with remarkable offerings of luxury hotel, condominium and mixed-use developments that underscore the firm's cutting edge appeal.
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SOURCE SOMA Architects
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