Capsule Retreat occupies 350 square meters of concrete and glass set within the pine forests of Zabbougha, Mount Lebanon. The design emphasizes local anchoring through regional stone and exposed concrete that reveals experimental formwork and local craftsmanship. Terraced gardens cascade from a northern facade to blur interior and exterior boundaries. The house functions as a living gallery, with neutral concrete surfaces and strategically placed windows that modulate natural light and alter the perception of artworks and spaces. Interior volumes flow seamlessly and frame views of the Lebanese countryside as composed vistas. Founders Charles Kettaneh and Nicolas Fayad prioritized texture, memory, and locality in shaping materials and spatial relationships.
In the rural hills of Zabbougha, Mount Lebanon, sits a house that feels more like a piece of sculpture than a home. East Architecture Studio's Capsule Retreat stretches across 350 square meters of concrete and glass, rising from the pine forests with an almost otherworldly presence. Founders Charles Kettaneh and Nicolas Fayad wanted to create something that felt rooted in this specific place, something they describe as being woven with "texture, memory, and locality." The house itself is unapologetically concrete, but there's poetry in how it's been shaped.
The construction tells its own story about place and tradition. Local stone anchors the structure to its mountainous setting, while the concrete work showcases regional building techniques filtered through contemporary eyes. There's something honest about how the materials reveal themselves, how the formwork patterns become part of the visual language. The architects talk about "listening" to the site, and you can feel that attention in every detail.
This isn't just someone's weekend getaway. The retreat doubles as a gallery space, designed for an art collector who wanted their home to be a place where living and art could happen side by side. The concrete surfaces become neutral canvases for rotating exhibitions, while carefully placed windows let natural light shift and change throughout the day, constantly transforming how you experience both the art and the space itself.
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