Design excellence seeks architectural solutions that respect historic buildings and sites. Marj Besri dam project is one of the many proposed projects addressing the ongoing water availability problem, in Lebanon. On the one hand, finite resources and high cost restrict the potential of the no-dam alternative for water management such as rainwater harvesting, waste water reuse and groundwater storage (Council for Development and Reconstruction, 2014). On the other hand, several studies focus on the impact of the dam project on the excessive greenhouse gas emissions in the early stages of the ...