Shared by the architects upon our invitation.
Built on a sloped site in Jouret El Ballout, Lebanon, the new extension of Collège Louise Wegmann reimagines the relationship between architecture, education, and emotion offering students a school that is at once playful, generous, and grounded.
Designed by Dagher Hanna & Partners, the building responds to both the steep
topography and the school’s evolving pedagogical mission. A U-shaped addition turnsback toward the existing L-shaped school structure, consolidating the original courtyard and creating a new one in the process. This configuration reinforces spatial coherence across the campus while introducing vital new programmatic anchors: a double-height library, a multi-purpose auditorium, administrative offices, a covered playground, and additional classrooms.
The massing steps down the hillside in a sequence of articulated volumes, transforming the terrain into a layered learning landscape. These volumes create a strong architectural rhythm across the site and organize circulation along both axial and diagonal paths, allowing light and movement to guide the experience of space. Materially, the extension combines painted and raw concrete surfaces. Smooth white finishes alternate with fair-faced concrete walls embedded with a custom leaf-like pattern a subtle nod to the surrounding greenery. These textured walls catch the light and help break down the building’s scale, softening its institutional presence and adding a tactile, human quality.
The façade is animated by a constellation of circular windows in varying sizes and vibrant hues. These playful openings allow daylight to filter deep into the interiors, creating moments of surprise, visual connection, and joy. Larger glazed panels, shaded by operable aluminum louvers, ensure thermal comfort and reduce glare throughout the day.
Inside, circulation spaces are designed as active extensions of the classroom. Wide corridors double as informal gathering areas and breakout zones, encouraging social interaction and dynamic use. Natural light floods these spaces, supporting a sense of openness and flow.
At the heart of the project lies an internal courtyard that serves as both spatial and social anchor. This protected void offers room for quiet gatherings, spontaneous play, or larger school-wide events, while also enhancing cross-ventilation and visual connectivity between different wings of the school.
Structurally, the building is composed of cast-in-place concrete slabs and walls, with spans carefully designed to accommodate the large volumes of the library and gymnasium. High ceilings in these spaces enhance acoustic performance and spatial generosity. Classrooms are positioned to maximize daylight and frame views toward the landscape, anchoring students in their environment.
More than an educational facility, Collège Louise Wegmann is an architecture of energy and possibility—crafted with empathy, clarity, and imagination. Every design gesture, from window placement to circulation flow, is guided by a desire to enrich the daily life of students and to nurture a learning environment that feels open, inspiring, and deeply connected to its context.
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Cite: “College Louise Wegmann – A School Shaped by Play, Jouret El Ballout LEBANON / Dagher Hanna & Partners” 24 Sep 2025. GLSN. Accessed . https://theglsn.com/college-louise-wegmann-a-school-shaped-by-play-jouret-el-ballout-lebanon-dagher-hanna-partners/