Making new buildings from old stones By Brooke Anderson QORNET SHEHWAN, Lebanon: The beige bricks of the villa on the hill look like they have been around for hundreds of years. They have – but as parts of other houses throughout Lebanon. When Amine Jules Iskandar wanted to buy an old traditional Lebanese house he discovered he had two bad options: one that was far out of his price range or one that was in the path of major development work. As an architect, he was able to come up with another option: use stones, bricks and arches from old destroyed houses. Sadly, such material isn’t hard to come by in Lebanon, where historic houses are demolished on a regular basis to make way for new development. Treasures of old building materials are bought and collected at the country’s plethora of construction sites and then sold throughout Lebanon. “This was the only way for me to have an old house,” says Iskandar, as he gives a tour of his villa, beginning with the beige stones he bought from shops selling pieces from old buildings. He says the entire project cost $200,000 – much less than what he would have spent on an original historic house. “When building an old house, it’s better to use old elements. That way you keep the spirit,” he says. “You can feel it when it’s not old. It’s different.” Read more: dailystar.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2013/Jun-26/221561-making-new-buildings-from-old-stones.ashx#ixzz2XOV4injX (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: dailystar.lb)
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 06:08:23 +0000
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