The Lebanese architecture firm AAA (Atelier des Architectes Associés) has captured the top prize in the Public Buildings category at the prestigious Arab Architects Awards 2025 for its transformative design of the ALBA campus in Dekwaneh. The award ceremony, held in Cairo, recognized the firm's exceptional work on the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) campus at the University of Balamand, which stood out among 42 submissions from countries across the MENA region. This biennial competition, organized by the Association of Arab Architects, celebrates architectural excellence throughout the Arab world and has previously been hosted in Beirut in 2018 and Amman in 2022. The jury specifically honored AAA's innovative approach to converting a highly constrained urban site into a dynamic university hub that fosters creativity, exchange, and community life.
The ALBA campus project, initially conceived in 2014 and operational since 2018, was strategically planned for implementation in three phases to ensure uninterrupted educational activities during construction. To date, the firm has completed the first two phases, which included developing the northern portion of the site and rehabilitating an existing building. Jean-Pierre Megarbané, architect and co-founder of the award-winning firm, explained that the jury praised the agency's design work for successfully transforming a challenging urban environment while sensitively inserting new constructions into what he described as a somewhat chaotic surroundings. The project demonstrates how thoughtful urban planning can create order and vitality within dense, complex city fabrics while respecting existing contexts.
Central to the campus design is a series of carefully programmed communal spaces that energize student life and encourage interaction. The architects created a 'learning street' that emerged from the site's longitudinal configuration, providing a main artery for circulation and informal gathering. A central atrium, surrounded by stepped seating and topped with a vegetated roof, serves as the heart of the campus, hosting events and fostering spontaneous encounters. Additional features include open galleries, strategically positioned staircases, and various lounges that connect seamlessly with dedicated teaching spaces such as workshops, auditoriums, and an amphitheater. This integration of social and academic functions reflects a contemporary understanding of how physical environments can support diverse learning modalities and community building in higher education settings.
AAA was founded in 1980 by Jacques Liger-Belair, who passed away in 2024, and Jean-Pierre Megarbané, and later expanded to include partners Georges Khayat, André Trad, and Roger Hachem. Over the past 45 years, the firm has completed approximately 200 projects across Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Ghana, and particularly in Algiers, where they designed the city's medical faculty, post and telecommunications headquarters, and various residential complexes. Their portfolio includes significant educational and cultural projects such as the Medical Simulation Center and new medical faculty at the USJ medical sciences campus in Beirut, plus more than ten schools for the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart across Lebanon. The firm's philosophy emphasizes modernist, timeless, humanist, green, flexible, and integrated architecture that respects both environment and users while staying current with appropriate cutting-edge techniques and materials.
In 2025, AAA expanded its international presence by opening an office in Riyadh, where several projects are currently under study or under construction. This strategic move positions the firm to contribute to Saudi Arabia's ambitious architectural and urban development initiatives while bringing their decades of expertise in educational, cultural, and residential architecture to the Gulf region. The expansion reflects the firm's growing reputation and its ability to adapt its human-centered design approach to different cultural and climatic contexts across the Arab world. Their success with the ALBA campus demonstrates how locally-rooted firms can achieve regional recognition while maintaining sensitivity to specific cultural and environmental conditions, a skill that will serve them well in the Saudi market.
The Arab Architects Award represents a significant achievement for AAA, validating their commitment to creating architecture that serves communities while addressing complex urban challenges. The recognition highlights the importance of adaptive reuse and thoughtful insertion of new structures within existing urban fabrics—a particularly relevant skill in rapidly developing cities across the MENA region. As the firm continues to expand its practice, the ALBA campus stands as a testament to how architecture can transform constrained sites into vibrant centers of learning and social exchange, embodying principles that resonate across borders and cultures. The award also shines a spotlight on Lebanon's architectural talent despite the country's ongoing challenges, demonstrating the resilience and creativity of its design community.
