News Highlights
Author:
Caroline Mccabe,Hariz,
AUB Press Release,
Office of Information and Public Relations,
cm11@aub.edu.lb
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AUB announces a winning design for the new School of Business
 | President John Waterbury (left) discusses the winning design
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The American University of Beirut (AUB) is delighted and proud to announce the winner of the new School of Business Design Competition. A distinguished international jury of experts, which met at AUB May 26-27, 2003, selected Machado and Silvetti Associates from among six finalists. John Waterbury, AUB president, commented that "the entire process has been extremely gratifying. We are very excited with the winning design. The new School of Business will complement the planned Charles W. Hostler Student Center and revitalize AUB's lower campus."
The new School of Business is the second large project that is planned as part of AUB's recently adopted Campus Master Plan. The Campus Master Plan is a $150 million 20-year initiative to establish a long-term vision for the campus, to provide a framework for the future development of AUB, to optimize the use of existing facilities, and to create a physical identity for the campus that is compatible with AUB's unique history, spectacular location, and distinctive architectural features. |
The planned business school will include facilities for undergraduate, MBA, and Executive MBA programs. In addition, the new building will accommodate academic and faculty offices and state-of-the-art space for future executive training programs.
Of the 27 firms that responded to the initial announcement, six were invited to participate: |
Ateliers LION Architectes Urbanistes - Paris, France
Charles Rose Architects - Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Jeremy Dixon, Edward Jones - London, United Kingdom
Machado and Silvetti Associates - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Shigeru Ban Architects in joint venture with LACECO and Bernard Khoury -Tokyo, Japan and Beirut, Lebanon
Vincent James Associates Architects (VJAA) - Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
The six firms each made 90-minute presentations and answered questions from a seven-member jury. The jury included representatives from AUB and distinguished architects from Germany, Lebanon, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They were:
Professor Max Fordham Max Fordham LLP, London, United Kingdom
Professor Howayda Al-Harithy, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Ms. Simone Kosremelli, architect and urban planner, Beirut, Lebanon
Mr. Jimmy C.S. Lim, CSL Associates, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Professor Hashim Sarkis, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Mr. Wilfried Wang, University of Texas at Austin and architect, Berlin, Germany
Dr. John Waterbury, president, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon |
After careful deliberation, the jury selected the design submitted by Machado and Silvetti Associates. Machado and Silvetti, who are familiar with the AUB campus through their collaboration with Sasaki Associates in the development of AUB's Campus Master Plan, issued the following statement:
"Machado and Silvetti Associates is extremely pleased to be selected as the winner of the design competition for the New School of Business at the American University of Beirut. We are proud of our design proposal and of the team we have assembled, particularly Nabil Azar, our local consultant, and the Baker Design Group, designers of learning environments. In the past three years we have come to love working in this special city and with this unique university. We believe that the new School of Business represents a dynamic facility that will further enhance AUB's regional and international reputation; we are excited for the opportunity to be a part of that process." |
The jury was guided by six criteria in evaluating each project: responsiveness to the site and urban conditions/context; the new image of AUB from the Corniche; architectural distinction with respect to interior and exterior spaces; responsiveness to the program of the new School of Business; responsiveness to environmental concerns; and feasibility with respect to construction, cost, and operations. Mr. Wang, one of the jury members, commented that Machado and Silvetti had provided a "considered and intelligent design" that had the potential to provide a strong image for AUB.
The dean of AUB's School of Business, Dr. George Najjar, issued the following statement: "The School of Business is extremely happy with the choice. The winning design provides a distinct identity for the new School of Business while at the same time blending with, and sharing in, the life of the wider campus. It also meets the educational/programmatic needs of the school in providing distinct academic components that are closely interconnected." | 
Dr. George Najjar, dean of School of Business (left) and John Bernson, VP-Finance (middle) |
The winning firm imagines the new School of Business as "an L-shaped four-story building of four enclosed pieces traversed by paths grouped around a triangular open courtyard" and includes the development of a large green space between the new building and Durrafourd West. Ms. Kosremelli, a Beirut-based architect and jury member, noted that the winning design had succeeded in extending the campus to include the two Durrafourd Buildings. Another jury member, Max Fordham, commented that the "extension of the double faade with a masonry screen makes the design."
More than 950 non-business students take courses in the School of Business. Jury members were clearly concerned that the new building serve both the needs of the school and of the University. President Waterbury praised the way in which the Machado and Silvetti submission opened to the rest of the AUB campus. Professor Al-Harithy echoed this comment remarking on the proposed building's "friendly relationship with the neighboring buildings."
AUB plans to break ground for the new building in March 2005. The new School of Business is scheduled for completion in August 2006. | 
The winning design by Machado and Silvetti |
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