Discover AYA towers
BEIRUT, By Nada Akl | iloubnan.info - January 15, 2010

An original tower concept that can be adapted to any location, a design that’s elegant, avant-garde, and that reflects both Arab heritage and radical modernism, a place to call home: AYA is all of these things.
A tower that pays tribute to traditional Arab architecture and that also has a very modern feel, with the best that today’s technology has to offer. This is what HAR properties had in mind when they created the AYA building, the first of which will be built in Beirut very soon. Philippe Tabet, General Manager of the newly established company explains that they wanted to offer something that is different from what’s currently available on the market. He adds “unfortunately, the real estate development of Arab countries does not reflect the values of Arab heritage and traditional architecture. There is a race for profit at the expense of roots and heritage”.

Authenticity, aesthetics and quality living are at the center of the project designed by French architecture firm SOA… including the choice of name! The word “AYA” was approved by a Feng Shui master who also visited the site and recommended that the building be positioned perpendicular to the road, and that it faces east. That also allows all the apartments to have maximum sun exposure. Each unit remains an exclusive, individual cocoon. The apartments are inspired by the Majlis, Diwan, Patio tryptic. The unique checkerboard structure of AYA towers allows each apartment to have its own open terrace as the patios are not superposed. Each side of the tower is cut into three equal parts, for a total of 12 sequences. On each level, 2 of the 12 sequences go back 1 meter to form the open air terraces. The checkerboard structure follows these backsteps and supports the weight like a pyramid.

The basic concept of AYA towers can be adapted to different urban setting with facades that can be executed in different versions: gold, black metal or concrete; and a design that places more emphasis on elegance rather than show-off. Tabet explains that they want to keep the pricing competitive for these apartments ranging from 150 square meters to double that size.

Construction for the first AYA tower in Beirut will start soon, expect completion by 2013. There will be 19 floors with 25 residential apartments, 1600 square meters of office space and 700 square meters for shops on the ground floor. After that, there are plans to build other AYA towers in Lebanese and Arab cities.



http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb2/Htlebmn/AYA0.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb2/Htlebmn/AYA1.jpg

This is the same developer for Mirror Tower. No mention on location and i think its probably higher.

www.ayatowers.com

Very Cool Design,but only 19 floors? looks like it's in Achrafieh.

I love the design its ingenious! creating the terraces from cuts or zigzags

This is an amazing tower, I wish this was as tall as Sama Beirut, this would be really Iconic! This looks like something out of a 1920's german film. I love it.

It would be gr8 if it's going to be built close to Sama Beirut.

One of two things, either I have to change my glasses, or you guys have a weird taste lol
I hate the shape.

^^ it's GORGEOUS!!!
i wish le vendome intercontinental gets demolished and this iconic building gets to built instead.

Imagine it tall and with this golden color and all glass, it would be amazing, are you kidding! This is classic

The "drawings" or "shapes" are so random. We need more/better renders to judge.

i like the design from those renders, very different from the ergular apartment bloc, it will freshen things up. however, as LeB.Fr said, we need better renders, its hard to tell what the building is made of.
anyway, for a residential tower, i think its good, and will hopefuly raise the standards of future buildings!

I love this! I hope it gets built in Arshafieh, near Sama. I think that whole area could turn out really nice.

I can really see anything special in the renderings, it looks very basic. idk, maybe we need better renderings.

it looks like the typical architecture studio student model, cube with extruded parts....not a huge fan...i guess this is the new fashion in architecture..turning the basic Sketchup forms into actual buildings..

www.ayatowers.com

just amazing!

I can judge anything yet until we see more renders and the exact location of the plot

The launching of this project is today !

http://har-properties.com/sites/default/files/ayabeirut.jpg?1276265398http://har-properties.com/sites/default/files/AYA_100420_dossierDGU_Page_21-rotate_0.jpg?1273596816
http://har-properties.com/sites/default/files/AYA_100420_dossierDGU_Page_17.jpg?1272986929
http://har-properties.com/sites/default/files/AYA_100420_dossierDGU_Page_18.jpg?1272986950

ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Same developers of Mirror towers
Website: www.aya-beirut.com

it looks different than the original renders, in the originals it looked taller and thinner... in the new renders it looks wider and not that tall at all...

ON the contrary, I think it should've been shorter. I don't know what you like about tall buildings..all they bring is more people, which brings more traffic. Beirut is becoming unlivable.

taller or shorter...it is disgusting either ways...

it looks different than the original renders, in the originals it looked taller and thinner... in the new renders it looks wider and not that tall at all...

I agree i am dissapointed..the first render its huge...

"Construction for the first AYA tower in Beirut will start soon, expect completion by 2013. There will be 19 floors with 25 residential apartments, 1600 square meters of office space and 700 square meters for shops on the ground floor. After that, there are plans to build other AYA towers in Lebanese and Arab cities."

This is the first tower..render doesnt seem like 19 floors tho..maybe we will see one more akin to the first rnder at 30-40 stories

4F9WgMSQGek

STUPID.

It's the approach which is now ruining Sursock:

1. Find an interesting neighborhood, which has some kind of 'cachet' because of the charm of its architecture, the greenery of its gardens, and the life of its streets.
2. Build something completely at odds with that charm, greenery, and street life.
3. Benefit from being among the first destroyers.
4. 'Inspire' other 'copycats' who then completely destroy whatever is left of the original charm.
5. Hope (buyers, not sellers), when all is said and done, that with no planning guidelines, no incorporation of any features of the original neighborhood in subsequent developments, no widening of roads to handle the increased traffic, the new 'neighborhood' isn't a characterless, traffic-choked, light-deprived expensive slum,

6. Gather pictures of the old neighborhood with its interesting architecture, pocket gardens, neighborhood stores, long time inhabitants, and publish a book entitled something like 'Mar Mikhael Mirage' which people buy to give as gifts to their friends, which serve as the only memory of a city that existed 10 years before, and which is the only gesture most will make towards expressing some kind of regret about the changes which have created the ugliness of today's Beirut.

I think this building is going up on the site of a stark deco theater. It wasn't particularly beautiful, but it was in scale with the neighborhood. Whatever one thinks of this design (I like it), I've said it before and will say it again, there are other places to build high density new buildings, without destroying whatever of the late 19th/early 20th century heritage Beirut has left.

so 20 floors, 17 residential + 3 commercial

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.8972204&lon=35.5271244&z=18&l=0&m=b&v=1

STUPID.

It's the approach which is now ruining Sursock:

1. Find an interesting neighborhood, which has some kind of 'cachet' because of the charm of its architecture, the greenery of its gardens, and the life of its streets.
2. Build something completely at odds with that charm, greenery, and street life.
3. Benefit from being among the first destroyers.
4. 'Inspire' other 'copycats' who then completely destroy whatever is left of the original charm.
5. Hope (buyers, not sellers), when all is said and done, that with no planning guidelines, no incorporation of any features of the original neighborhood in subsequent developments, no widening of roads to handle the increased traffic, the new 'neighborhood' isn't a characterless, traffic-choked, light-deprived expensive slum,

6. Gather pictures of the old neighborhood with its interesting architecture, pocket gardens, neighborhood stores, long time inhabitants, and publish a book entitled something like 'Mar Mikhael Mirage' which people buy to give as gifts to their friends, which serve as the only memory of a city that existed 10 years before, and which is the only gesture most will make towards expressing some kind of regret about the changes which have created the ugliness of today's Beirut.

I think this building is going up on the site of a stark deco theater. It wasn't particularly beautiful, but it was in scale with the neighborhood. Whatever one thinks of this design (I like it), I've said it before and will say it again, there are other places to build high density new buildings, without destroying whatever of the late 19th/early 20th century heritage Beirut has left.

Well said !
At first i liked the renders,

the second renders where extremely disappointing

and now that i saw the location i think this tower is an abomination.

BUT when i checked their website, i read their propaganda, and i hated their pretentious marketing approach, so now i hate everyone behind this project.

BTW the cinema was a gray box of wasted space, i don't regret it's destruction but this pile of pretentious shit will definitely ruin the area, hope this one is the last of its kind in the neighborhood

AYA REACTIVE building >>> BITE ME

AYA Tower - Mar Mikhael

The Aya Building is a landmark int the city. Its unique form and shape, a tribute to the history of Arab construction, are signs of exception. its unique structure offers residents a complete opening towards the sky: each apartment has a wide non covered patio, which embraces the entire landscape. The non-superposition of patios makes each apartment a unique house.

article on Archello.com http://www.archello.com/en/project/aya-tower-mar-mikhael

http://www.archello.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/media_enlarge_switch/story/media/AYA-nuit.jpg

http://www.archello.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/media_enlarge_switch/story/media/SOA_AYAtower_model.jpg

http://www.archello.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/media_enlarge_switch/story/media/SOA_AYAtower_concept.jpg

http://www.archello.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/media_enlarge_switch/story/media/SOA_AYAtower_terrace.jpg

Helloo... can we please have more information??
where is the construction place? when did they start??
i mean the adress in Lebanon...:)
I hope to get a reply soon !! Im very anxious to know more about it..

Time Sunday, May 1 · 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Location Mar Mikhael - Ex Cinema Vendome, Future AYA Tower


Save Beirut Heritage is calling for a sit in on Sunday May 1st at 12 noon at the previous location of Cinema Vendome, Mar Mikhael Street.

HAR properties managed to obtain a demolition permit for 3 significant heritage buildings in Mar Mikhayel near the previous cinema Vendome Cinema in order to make space for a 30 story tower called AYA tower (Plot Beirut 663).
The only compromise was to keep the facades; this is unacceptable.
Furthermore, these permits were obtained through political coercion and gross abuse of power by the owners of the plots.

You will find in our group, photos of the recently demolished buildings, feel free to use them in your respective publications.

The buildings demolished had been previously classified as architecturally significant by a committee designated by the Ministry of Culture. This same committee resigned once Minister Salim Wardeh succumbed to political pressure and overturned their decision to preserve the buildings. He granted demolition permits.

We are calling you, our friends in the media to help us spread the word. This goes way beyond political feuds and concerns us all all as Lebanese.
This can truly be the beginning of the end of our traditional architecture.

We need your urgent support.
Thank you.

FOR ANY INQUIRIES PLEASE CALL NAJI OR GIORGIO AT ANY TIME ON:
03572962
03716219
71319167
71011310

Tradition in trouble


By Rayya Salem on September 02, 2010
Tower blocks threaten yet another of Beirut’s historic haunts

Tower blocks threaten yet another of Beirut's historic haunts - Mar Mikhael

It is the sleepy, forgotten neighborhood of overdeveloped East Beirut where, until recently, Achrafieh, Saifi and Gemmayze have been having all the fun and attracting all the attention. But in the last two years, since the party music emanating from Gemmayze pubs began to be matched by the disapproving cries of residents and government officials, the traditional quarter of Mar Mikhael has been soaking up the commercial overflow as bar owners, artists and entrepreneurs have headed a little further down Rue Gouraud. The area’s unspoiled charm and cheap prices have proved a tempting combination for Beirut’s young guns.

But where the young guns go, the big guns are sure to follow. Real estate developers insist that demand can only keeping rising in this strategic area, situated in the Rmeil district between Gemmayze and Bourj Hammoud, that hasn’t seen new construction for some 40 years.

According to developer Pierre Moise, Mar Mikhael’s old world feel is part of the reason why Lebanese expatriates, upscale yuppies and Europeans are drawn to it as a living quarter. They are the target buyers for the gleaming new residential towers and mid-rises planned — and currently in the excavation stage — along the main Armenia Street and its side streets.

As young Lebanese are quickly being priced out of the market in the Achrafieh and are showing less interested in living in Gemmayze, more and more are happy to settle down in what Moise and others say is Beirut’s new Soho. Developers attribute increased demand for this enclave to its relatively strong infrastructure, particularly the two-way streets that provide direct access to Charles Helou — the main highway — and twice the parking spaces of Gemmayze.

“The key shift in the market now is that developers are choosing to build more small apartments, ranging from 80 square meters to 150 square meters, because young professionals are really the ones most interested in living here, and many just want a ‘pied-á-terre’ near Beirut,” Moise said.

Due to old rental laws — which often hold rents at rates decades old and leave landlords out of pocket — many owners of old structures are happy to sell to developers who will demolish traditional, low-rise houses and build high. Indeed, as private developers have little oversight from the Beirut municipality or the Director General of Urban Planning (DGU), they are building high and charging even higher, making the rapid development a cause both for concern and speculation.

According to Serge Yazigi, head of Majal Urban Observatory at Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts of Balamand University, Mar Mikhael is “one of the few, if not the only street of this length in Beirut that benefited from planning… you have a certain alignment, you used to have buildings of the same height, you have 10 to 12 stairways that lead to courtyards and gardens and also heritage buildings.

“From Sahet al Debbas to just before Bourj Hammoud, the whole neighborhood has architectural features that you don’t find anywhere else in Beirut.”

However, the area’s historic character, social and commercial fabric could all vanish as land prices creep up, changing the area’s demographics and spatial networks.

Rising residential developments

The case of Al Mawarid Real Estate’s 22-story Skyline tower neatly illustrates this point. According to General Manager Rania Akhras, the company was “convinced that Mar Mikhael was going to be the next Gemmayze. We thought bringing in someone as modern as Bernard Khoury [as the architect] would make it [the Skyline] a landmark.”

Lengthy stairways leading up to the Jeitawi neighborhood characterize Mar Mikhael’s time-worn charm

Akhras says that as the plot, situated in a corner off the main Armenia Street, was unoccupied and not surrounded by buildings of architectural significance, there was little incentive to keep with the quarter’s architectural heritage. They took the opportunity to combine four plots to increase the exploitation factor.

“I hope that some of the other buildings are preserved because it’s a very nice area. But the building code and plot size forces us to build high,” she says.

On the main street where the old Vendome Cinema and adjacent building have been demolished, Philippe Tabet of Har Properties has teamed up with Fahd Hariri to build Aya, a $30 million residential tower, constructed in what Tabet calls the architectural style of old Yemeni buildings. A source at the Rachid & Karam Architects, commissioned for the project, calls it “ultra modern.”

Ironically, when the developers first acquired the site, a rush of businesspeople approached them, wanting to rent the old cinema and turn it into a restaurant or nightclub, but instead they acquired the surrounding plots and paid the eight (mostly commercial) tenants a total of $900,000 to pack their bags and make way.

Har Properties boast of Aya’s strategic, in-demand location, describing Mar Mikhael as “a place where arched doorways, romantic stairways and sepia shutters recall the true essence of Beirut.” Others argue that it is precisely this charm that the 20-story-high contemporary tower will destroy, saying it has no place in the neighborhood.

“I’m really quite sad that the Vendome [cinema] has become a tower,” says Nayla Kunig, a local developer. “I think the young and intelligent Fahd Hariri, who is a designer, should have thought more in terms of urban landscape. How does [Aya tower] look in this urban landscape which is [mostly] low houses?”

The Aya tower will be built in place of the old Vendome cinema on Mar Mikhael’s main street

Kunig says she’s not an investor. In fact, she’s a member of the National Heritage Foundation founded by Mona Hraoui, which aims to preserve traditional Lebanese architecture. But she’s also the developer behind the East Village residential project, located one block away from Electricite du Liban, which she describes as “contemporary but friendly.”

“I’m absolutely convinced that you either restore an old house or do something modern. But you can’t do pseudo Lebanese work,” says Kunig. The East Village’s 12 flats have all been sold except the top floor, mainly to young Lebanese to maintain the “social fabric” of the quarter.

Developer Pierre Moise is also concerned with maintaining a certain social demographic. His approach is quite blunt: “I sold only to Christians,” he says, claiming that maintaining the sectarian makeup of the area is part of preserving the culture. Moise is renovating a three story building that dates from 1955 called “1099,” tucked into Alexander Flemming Street in the heart of the design district. He’s adding four more floors and converting the existing underground space into a parking garage.

Enter the speculators

Har Properties’ Tabet insists he is also being very choosy when it comes to buyers for Aya, although his ire is turned against speculators. “I don’t want to encourage speculation. The speculator is dangerous. If the market turns around and the price goes down, the speculator can’t continue his payments.”

When developer Kunig and her financial partner bought their land more than three years ago, prices were still “reasonable” for the almost 1,000 meter square plot. They agreed to pay the private owner $1.2 million, but lengthy negotiations with the municipality over issuing their permit drove the total cost to $1.7 million, mainly for tax purposes. This would suggest that the municipality is contributing to price inflation, and thus promoting speculation.

“Now the land on the main road of Mar Mikhael is $4,000 per square meter,” says Kunig. “I would like things to be lived in by the people who have to live in this part of the city, and not some funky millionaire from somewhere else. I refuse to sell to speculators who just follow the hype and have to have a place in a trendy neighborhood that they visit once a year.”

East Village, one of the new ultramodern developments, stands out with it’s novel 600-square meter ‘vertical garden’

In stark contrast to the other developer’s Executive spoke to, Akhras boasts that there have already been two buyers who have resold their apartments in the Skyline for a higher price, illuminating the speculative nature of Beirut’s real estate market.

Most developers agree that the price of land took off after the Doha agreement gave the property market a confidence boost in the summer of 2008. Christian Baz of Baz Real Estate says the price of land in Mar Mikhael varies depending in to which zone the plot falls, but the value of property has risen across the board since 2008 in tandem with rising prices in Achrafieh. The firm has three 400-meter plots they are selling: one in zone three priced at $5,500 per square meter, and two in zone six priced at $3,000 per square meter and $2,500 per square meter, respectively.

Sustainable living

Mar Mikhael’s mokhtar (municipal representative) Beshara Gholam is happy to see the area becoming akin to Gemmayze, and says the rapid development is a good thing.

“You have owners who are getting the opportunity of a lifetime when developers come pay them big money to buy their land to build a tower,” he says. “And then with all this increased activity, there is more employment.”

But others don’t share his happy sentiments. Yazigi of the Majal Urban Observatory points out that the unique Lebanese heritage of the area is in danger if plots can be combined to build towers of any height in such a relatively unspoiled area — though there is currently a law under study to prevent this type of plot merger. He suggests preserving the whole quarter to promote long-term sustainable economic development, saying that while it’s normal to have evolution, it should happen gradually.

New restaurant Chez Sophie, one of a wave of establishments opening in Mar Mikhael, is housed in a sympathetically renovated building

“We must keep residents in their location, to keep the same quality of life and commercial activities,” he says.

The larger picture of what’s happening is what Yazigi calls “Solidere’s gentrification process,” whereby their development in downtown Beirut is indirectly increasing prices in surrounding areas. At this rate, he says, the next generation won’t be able to live in central Beirut or within this ever-expanding radius because of such rapid luxury development that keeps pushing prices up.

“This is what happens when the private sector is shown a totally open door and there is no coordination with other groups,” Yazigi claims.

For example, he says about 40 percent of the original residents of Monot left the neighborhood during its golden nightlife period when prices escalated, and when the commercial district was suddenly abandoned, the quarter was left with its social fabric in ruins.

“We are not against the private developers,” says Yazigi. “We are criticizing the fact that the state doesn’t accompany this dynamic, or put mitigation measures, and try to re-orient the private sector.”

Residential developments in Mar Mikhael - Lebanon

Whether this happens, and the rapid remaking of Mar Mikhael becomes an evolution for the area merging its historic charm with contemporary demographic demands, is a question only time can answer.

If the long-term health and sustainability of the urban environment are of any concern, other neighborhoods in Beirut that have faced a similar assault from the forces of development are no examples to emulate.

latest renders

http://har-properties.com/sites/default/files/01_AYA_FINALE-PRINCIPALE_web.gif

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/02_AYA_PERS-RUE_2-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/website_3-resized.jpg

close-ups

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-4_2-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-5_2-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-7_2-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-10_3-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-11_3-resized.jpg

Interiors

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-12_2-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-15_1-resized.jpg

Night shots

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-8_3-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-9_3-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-21_1-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-22_1-resized.jpg

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Aya%20Beirut/AYA-essai-24_1-resized.jpg

..

Btw, the project's name is simply "AYA". "Aya towers" is a totally different under construction (almost finished) project near Verdun.

Location

From our trusty Wikimapian:
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.8972204&lon=35.5271244&z=18&l=0&m=b&v=1

From their website

http://har-properties.com/sites/default/files/map_aya_web.jpg?1304087083

those last renders where we see the preservation of the street level traditional buildings , after the ministry of culture and the SBH team worked and pressured the company responsible for the project .

just amazing :cheers: