The Need
The project was conceived with the aim of rethinking the senior living model and integrating it actively within the urban fabric.
The client, Beit Bakfar, sought to create a high-quality, open complex combining residential living with services and public functions, while fostering community life and intergenerational interaction.
A key planning challenge was a significant topographical difference of approximately 19 meters between two adjacent streets, requiring a complex solution addressing accessibility, circulation, and entrance hierarchy.
The Vision
The creation of a multi-layered complex functioning as a “small city” — integrating residential, leisure, cultural, and commercial uses within a unified urban system.
The project blurs the boundary between public and private spaces, allowing controlled urban presence while maintaining residents’ privacy and security.
The architectural language emphasizes transparency, lightness, and spatial continuity, creating an ongoing dialogue with the surrounding city and enhancing the street experience.
The Design
The design utilizes the site’s topography to create two primary entrances:
an upper entrance from the main street, featuring a central lobby and an active commercial facade, and a lower entrance facing a quieter residential street.
This configuration establishes a clear hierarchy between public and private areas and ensures optimal accessibility from all levels.
Along the lower street, a continuous colonnade accompanies the sidewalk, providing shade and acting as a soft buffer between the internal courtyard and the public realm.
The building mass steps back progressively, reducing its perceived scale and creating a more human, approachable street facade.
The complex includes 300 residential units of varying sizes, a spacious internal courtyard with pools and landscaped open areas, and a wide range of amenities, including an auditorium, activity rooms, cinema, fitness and wellness facilities, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and a green roof with a reflecting pool and open bar.
A system of separated circulation cores allows controlled access for the general public to selected functions while preserving residents’ privacy.
