Zawya Street Bank

A bank on Zawya Street, Tripoli, that takes the Italian-era buildings around it and reshapes them, so the old line continues in a new form.

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The context

The site faces the hospital and sits beside the Blood Bank, among buildings of Italian heritage.

The reference

The design takes an Italian building from the street as its reference and borrows its elements: the wraparound balcony, the central windows and the large glazed openings. Then it disturbs them, so they change from old to new. The history keeps going on the same line, but time has changed its shape.

The structure

The structure is complex: no wall sits on a wall of another level, and no slab matches the one above or below it. A flat slab system is the right answer for commercial use.

The balconies

Every balcony looks out over the heritage around the building.

Status : Under construction

Type : Bank building

Location : Zawya Street, Tripoli, Libya

Built area : 2,430 m²