HM House is a private residence located on a mountainous site between Kafra and Rashkananieh in southern Lebanon, at an altitude of 500 meters with panoramic views toward the Mediterranean coast. The project evolved through multiple design iterations to balance client requirements with the site’s topography and landscape. The final design adopts a restrained architectural language, reducing volumetric impact through horizontal black marble slabs and full-height glazing. Organized vertically, the house separates public, family, and private zones while integrating internal courtyards that enhance light, ventilation, and visual continuity with the surrounding valley and sea.
HM House
Kafra, Southern Lebanon
Located on a mountainous ridge between the towns of Kafra and Rashkananieh in southern Lebanon, HM House sits at an altitude of approximately 500 meters above sea level and enjoys long-distance views toward the Mediterranean coast and the city of Tyre, nearly 12 kilometers away. The project responds to a steep topography and a visually expansive landscape, where the natural setting became a primary driver of the architectural approach.
Following a thorough site analysis, several design iterations were explored to reconcile the client’s spatial requirements with the environmental conditions of the plot. The final proposal emerged as a more restrained architectural response, prioritizing the surrounding landscape while reducing the perceived mass of the building. This was achieved through a clear volumetric composition articulated by repetitive black marble slabs and full-height glazing along the main façades, allowing visual continuity between interior spaces and the valley beyond. A central design request—the inclusion of internal courtyards—was retained and integrated into the final scheme to enhance natural light, ventilation, and spatial layering.
The house is organized vertically across multiple levels. The basement level accommodates the primary reception spaces, including salons, dining areas, and a combined kitchen–living space, with the main entrance accessed from the road level. The ground floor is dedicated to family life, housing the children’s bedrooms and a family living room with a secondary, more private entrance. The master bedroom occupies the uppermost level, ensuring maximum privacy and direct access to a large terrace overlooking the valley and the sea.
An earlier design proposal explored a more expressive contemporary language with a stronger volumetric presence. In that scheme, the ground floor organized public functions around a central courtyard, while the upper level contained bedrooms, family spaces, a prayer room, and expansive terraces. The basement was conceived as a flexible zone for leisure and guest accommodation. While ultimately revised, this initial concept informed the final project’s spatial logic and emphasis on indoor–outdoor relationships.
HM House ultimately stands as a landscape-driven residential project, where controlled massing, material clarity, and sectional organization work together to frame views, enhance privacy, and establish a balanced dialogue between architecture and its mountainous context.
