Castor et Pollux
Saifi, BCD
By Zardman

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/282096_244991062189686_188205221201604_906955_3882671_n.jpg

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/283533_244989695523156_188205221201604_906940_6922499_n.jpg

Description

Zardman presents "Castor et Pollux",luxury apartments in down town Beirut ranging from 140sqm to 280sqm.
This project will start end 2011 and will be done by early 2014. You can find luxury apartments in this project starting at 560,000 $.

Close-ups

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/282498_244991812189611_188205221201604_906961_44156_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/224577_244990435523082_188205221201604_906948_1149841_n.jpg

Interiors

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/251441_244985855523540_188205221201604_906914_1823199_n.jpg

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/282444_244990795523046_188205221201604_906952_7811096_n.jpg

This project is very new (august), this is why it's still missing from the official website, and therefore its data is incomplete (floor count, location, plans...etc). I will update the opening post as soon as this data gets available.

For now, I can only help with the estimated location, based on my personal observation.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.8930571&lon=35.5082899&z=18&l=0&m=b&v=1

Note that it can also be in one of the parking lots around that spot, am not 100% sure.

Damn, thats gorgeous!

one question! if the greenery isn't gonna be already on their when they are done i will be pissed cz thats what makes the building so beauitful to me, the question is is the greenery part of the vision or just as we say "DECOR"?

This project is very new (august), this is why it's still missing from the official website, and therefore its data is incomplete (floor count, location, plans...etc). I will update the opening post as soon as this data gets available.

For now, I can only help with the estimated location, based on my personal observation.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.8930571&lon=35.5082899&z=18&l=0&m=b&v=1

Note that it can also be in one of the parking lots around that spot, am not 100% sure.

Don't know anything about this project, but from the renderings I'd say it was on the other side of Georges Haddad, near the church. I hope it's not where Centrale is. But I don't think it technically is in the BCD.

^^Well, it looks like you're right Ain. Thanx for pointing this out.

The picture that got me confused was this one:
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/282498_244991812189611_188205221201604_906961_44156_n.jpg

Here's a zoomed and enhanced version, showing the part that I relied on in making my (false) statement:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Castor%20et%20Pollux/Castor-et-Pollux1-enlarged-Optimized.jpg

And here's the buildings that I recognized:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Castor%20et%20Pollux/castor-et-pollux-nearby_buildings_illustration-Zippo-optimized.jpg

So I suspected this picture was taken from the Mokbel/ Osseiran building, and hence the location that I pointed is directly in front of it.

..

Now the other render (the bird's eye view) is what I mistakenly perceived.
The thing is that this render is not really accurate, because of the none-existing buildings appearing in it. The ones appearing, are automatically-generated models to fill the area, so, in other words, unreliable.

The only monument that I was able to rely on and appearing in the render, was the Mar Maroun church (I should have payed more attention to the adjacent street). My mistake was with the direction. See the illustrations:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Castor%20et%20Pollux/castor-et-pollux-wrong-direction-illustration-Zippo.jpg

whereas the correct one should have been:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/SSC%20Projects%20Pictures/Castor%20et%20Pollux/castor-et-pollux-right-direction-illustration-Zippo.jpg

Which makes the project, as you mentioned, on the other side of Georges Haddad, and specifically right in front of the "Saifi Hills".

Here's where I suspect the location is:
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.8934178&lon=35.5105564&z=19&l=0&m=b&v=1 (or maybe in the parking lot to the left).

This makes it outside BCD indeed.
Well, until something official gets announced, we can spare Beiruti the hassle of correcting my mistake and revising the title, at least for the moment...

..

one question! if the greenery isn't gonna be already on their when they are done i will be pissed cz thats what makes the building so beauitful to me, the question is is the greenery part of the vision or just as we say "DECOR"?

The greenery is the whole concept, so it can't be "decor". The "structure" of the facades is designed in a way so that the plants can "climb" on.

The debate that was sparked by this thread concerning the preservation of the city's "heritgage" has been moved to a thread dedicated to this topic:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=653138

Let's please try to keep this thread about this particular project.

Yes let's keep this developer's slate clean, this is very democratic :S

So you think that these threads were not about the project and its core .

Welcome to Censorship 101 SBH

What Beiruti did, and what he's been doing for years, is organizing our forums in a professional way, and I believe he's been doing a great job so far.

It's your right Elie to think that "this is not democratic", but this is your opinion (which I respect), and here's mine:

-When you entered this thread, you clicked on the "#PROJECT: Castor et Pollux" title, so, unless its content (posts) is related to the title, it should be moved to its appropriate thread, or removed.

-When I want to re-read the conversation/debate related to the heritage in the future, I would like to search our Lebanese forums for the word "heritage", and find it in a dedicated thread, and not in "Castor et Pollux". Keep in mind that the conversation wasn't related to that project, but it was rather general, and involving Zardman, Manoukian, the greenery preservation, Wave, the government, advices here and there, life stories and achievements...etc…you name it! It was like a cafe discussion.

-This is not censorship, because every word you wrote is still there in its appropriate thread, which happens to be linked/redirected to from here.

-Making the “censorship” and the “dictatorship” (none democratic) statement, is in turn accusing Beiruti of being on Zardman’s side, or being “none supportive” to saving our heritage. This statement is misleading the readers, and, unless you have solid proof, you do not have the right to accuse people of things based on your misunderstanding of the situation.

..

SBH, the posts you wrote weren't about this SPECIFIC project, at least not explicitly. Your cause is noble and righteous, and I invite you to prepare a systematic research about this specific project, and how it's infringing on our heritage, and it will be most welcomed in this thread, as long as it's related to the topic.

A last word to SBH; there's no Lebanese who loves his country more than "Mr. Franklin", who won't support you in your cause, believe me. The problem is that, no offence, you were acting in a childish way, posting unrelated and unjustified hatred messages everywhere, which wasn't going to make anyone take you into serious, and, consequently, harm the noble cause you’re fighting for.

I suggest you start preparing professional studies about the projects that you think are damaging our heritage, and post them in their appropriate threads. This will lead to a civilized discussion that will shed light on neglected aspects of the specified project (namely “its impact on the National Heritage”), which in turn will increase the global awareness about “saving the heritage”.
..

The last thing I want to add is I grant Beiruti full privileges to remove/move this post, once the message is conveyed.

^^ Thank you, Zippo. What you stated is 100% correct.

For the record, I dont agree with censorship or any form of dictatorship and those that visit this forum regularly know that I try my very best to keep this as a democratic community. Most other moderators in other sections would simply delete posts no questions asked and not take the time to relocate them to an appropriate thread.

Furthermore, if you or anyone else has an issue with the way this forum is managed, feel free to address your concerns openly in the "About the Forum" thread, or privately through PM.

SBH is already preparing a complete file about this particular project .
including pictures , urban plan study and a conservation study and an engineer.

PS .we are absolutely and precisely talking about this project .
we are not attacking the company only for its numerous faults but also this big threat to the urban life in this street .

professional architects and urban planners are working with us .every single word we say about a project is quoted by those professionals .