As cities are growing today, various problems are appearing and created by this growth; and Beirut is no exception. The main outcome of this is investments in land for construction, which leads to lack of open spaces and especially green spaces. Beirut is suffering from the over crowdedness of people and buildings and most importantly the lack of green spaces. On the other hand, rooftops are usually large empty spaces that resemble mostly to the empty lots before the construction of their respective buildings, so they are an urban layer that can make up for the lack of open spaces in the city, ...

This paper examines the impact of daylight performance on classroom orientation in Beirut district and its suburbs. Daylight conditions in educational buildings have been of interest since the discovery of artificial light in the nineteenth century. Classroom orientation is crucial in optimizing daylight performance, which can positively impact student health, learning achievements, and psychology. In Lebanon, Government Decree No. 90911 recommends classrooms to have a southern orientation, with the longest part of the southern facade facing south. However, the decree does not provide any further ...

The emergence of respiratory diseases and pandemics through history such as the severe acute respiratory disease (SARS), the Spanish flu, and the current Covid-19 epidemic highlight the importance of ventilation in the transmission of airborne diseases. This research examines the buildings in Lebanon converted for hosting the cases of the Covid-19, focusing on the three pillars of sustainability which are the economic-social and environmental. This pandemic is affecting all the countries in the world, and concerns have risen about future epidemics that can cause the death of the population. In ...

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 ...

With the increase in the urban world population, the need for sustainable cities has become crucial, and comfortable and livable open spaces are an important aspect for this purpose. However, since open spaces are affected by the urban design of an area, their quality depends on the priorities of the stakeholders and decision makers, and thus might be compromised to the advantage of other needs, such as prioritizing profit over the public good. The thesis addresses comfort in open spaces, specifically within waterfront developments because many growing cities are coastal and thus, have witnessed ...

Lebanon is undergoing a critical economic crisis due to many internal and external factors. This crisis that started in 2015 is showcased clearly in the housing construction sector amplified by the decision of the Central Bank to suspend all subsidized housing loans in 2018. This resulted in an aggravated situation for young couples and low-income households who were heavily relying on these banking facilities. As part of the global strategy to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission, affordable sustainable housing is highlighted as a major aspect for providing the low-income ...

In the high mountains of Lebanon, internal comfort heavily relies on fuel consumption for indoor space heating. Being a country that lacks natural resources such as fuel and gas, the energy sector in Lebanon had been unable to meet the market demand for a long time. The simple solution that was adopted to compensate for the electricity shortage over the past years was to rely on private generators for power supply. This solution urged additional energy costs for heating and cooling demands through the inefficient use of air cooling and heating, and since cooling and heating depend primarily on ...