Moonshine Garden is an adaptive and sustainable response to rehabilitating left over structures.
When seen from far, the building appears as a fissured shiny block of marble, surrounded by thick jasmine layers and invaded by lush adaptive greens that ascent towards and punctures the roof translucent hazy addition.
The fate of abandoned buildings in Beirut is very uncertain. Some of them are torn down to erect crystalline residential towers; others are left to their inevitable decaying process while a few lucky ones fall into the preservation category.
This project addresses the restoration of an existing abandoned building next to the neglected train tracks as a temporary project with a 10 years lifespan. The former 3 levels steel factory construction will turn into a hostel and loft rentals on the upper floors, while the ground floor becomes a flexible space for a quiet escapade off the busy main Mar Mikhael Street.
The project is transient, as per the lost identity of the train station. It aims to celebrate and punctuate the train tracks, a nostalgic call of our lost public transportation infrastructure. The structure gives itself back to the city and invites the visitors to appropriate its spaces, and leave their imprint thus contribute to the narrative of the rooms.
The building is being re-used, and so are all the components that will inject its guts with a new program. Our city (and the world) is subject to a drastic unmanaged waste crisis. The shell treatment directly responds to this crucial matter with a simple message: time to recycle. The building's old brownish facades will be cladded with marble left overs collected from marble factories' dumps. They will be carefully laid out, piece by piece, to erect a precious and timeless marble structure in the city, all from waste.
As for the program, the building and its roof will be injected with an independent flexible system that incorporates two schemes: efficient and low cost OSB modules made of sustainable recycled wood and a narrative of green species that adapt and grow indoors. Both entities interlock towards an adaptive environment that accommodates to different scenarios, user groups and programs.
