A striking 400-square-meter private residence in the Lebanese village of Zabbougha has been designed to function simultaneously as both a home and an art gallery, showcasing an extensive contemporary art collection. The innovative project, known as Capsule Retreat, was created by EAST Architecture Studio and sits nestled among coniferous forests and dramatic sandstone outcrops in the Lebanese countryside.

Rather than following a single architectural style, the design team deliberately embraced the eclectic mix of rural construction techniques found throughout the region. The architects incorporated local building methods and materials as the foundation for their design approach, creating a structure that feels authentically connected to its surroundings. From the exterior, the house maintains a modest appearance that blends naturally with the landscape, avoiding any sense of architectural pretension.

One of the project's most distinctive features is a custom-designed roof created by renowned Iraqi artist and sculptor Dia Azzawi. This bespoke sculptural element serves the practical function of concealing mechanical equipment while adding a significant artistic dimension to the overall composition. Azzawi's creative influence extends beyond the roof to other carefully crafted details throughout the property, including a handmade outdoor pizza oven and a custom dining table, establishing an ongoing dialogue between architecture and art.

The Lebanon and UAE-based architects at EAST Architecture Studio approached the site through what they describe as a "physiological reading," carefully considering the area's layered material history and cultural character. This methodology led them to embrace concepts of incompleteness and low-tech rural practices as guiding principles for the design. The Capsule Retreat treats these existing local construction traditions as frameworks for creating continuity with the surrounding environment.

Inside the residence, the design adopts a deliberately monochromatic palette dominated by concrete surfaces across walls, ceilings, and floors. However, this potentially stark material presence is softened and made distinctive through artisanal processes carried out by local craftspeople. The concrete was prepared using timber molds sourced from the immediate region, which were later repurposed as interior fittings, creating a sustainable design cycle that reflects the house's deep connection to its place.

These timber molds left distinctive imprints on the concrete surfaces, lending them a textured identity that speaks to the house's rootedness in the local landscape and building traditions. The design language extends into sculptural domestic forms, including a capsule-shaped kitchen island and a freestanding partition in the bathroom that continue the home's unique aesthetic vocabulary.

The heart of the retreat consists of an open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area featuring impressive four-meter-high ceilings that frame expansive windows overlooking the surrounding forest. Two key elements establish a sense of warmth within this grand space: a chimney embedded within a curving concrete alcove and a stove positioned on the sweeping kitchen island. The bathroom continues the interplay between mass and light with a skylit shower enclosed by the curved partition, creating a spa-like environment that maintains the home's sculptural sensibility throughout.