ALGORITHM PHARMACEUTICAL CAMPUS

The Algorithm Pharmaceutical Campus showcases profound symbiotic relationships between a unique design vision, topography, native flora, and the ingenuity of local skilled workers, which successfully transformed a rather steep and difficult site, into a contemporary Corporate Campus that naturally and seamlessly blends with the surrounding undulating hills of Zikrit, Mount-Lebanon.

The region is known for its rich biodiversity and natural heritage. The design keenly preserved this particularity and incorporated it to the programmatic vocation of a pharmaceutical campus, resulting in a strikingly harmonious balance between sustainability, ecology, and corporate functionality, thus creating a space that is as aesthetically pleasing as practical for its intended use.

Resting on a sharp slope, water management was critical to the success of the project and its eco-responsible mission. The Landscape of the campus was designed to resist, delay, store, and reuse rainwater, and to tolerate long drought periods. Reservoirs under the stepped landscapes and rain gardens collect water and release it back in drip irrigation, and water used in the facility is directed to retention basins, and pumped into a feature fountain that enhances the appeal of the main entrance and creates a soothing atmosphere contributing to the overall healing experience.

People are more creative and open to new ideas when they work outdoors immersed in a nature-filled environments. A wide and carefully selected palette of native plant species, and an array of medicinal plants contributed to the beauty of the space, heightened the pharmaceutical mission of the campus, and created educational opportunities for visitors to learn about various medicinal plants, their benefits, and uses. Native species constitute essential habitats for local fauna, so their utilization reconstituted loss of habitat caused by construction. They are also adapted to local climate and weather, so they will require less water, less fertilizing and less maintenance.

Following the principles of ecological succession, in a few years time and throughout the seasons, the campus will be absorbed by lush native nature, creating a self-regulatory ecosystem offering sensuous variation of lights, shadows, smells, colors, and sounds.

The project also reused rocks and boulders extracted during site excavation. An on-site quarry was created, and local masons skillfully cut, sculpted, and mixed the stones that formed the stepped retaining walls. This created a beautiful contrast between the old and new, yet added to the natural feel of the landscape, and ensured that the site's natural resources were utilized, thus minimizing the environmental impact of the project.

The Algorithm Pharmaceutical Campus was awarded a LEED Gold certification for its environmental performance, a testament to the project's exceptional design and execution which prioritized sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Controlled, woven, and nestled into the elegant silhouettes of the mountains, bathing in the stillness of Pine and Olive forests, the Campus offers a beautiful setting with breathtaking views, and an exclusive sense of identity and place, with ample room for work, walk-and-talk meetings, recreation, socialization, and creative stress-free atmospheres.

The new Algorithm campus is a timeless, unique, and wonderful environment where native and local flora mix with Lebanese industrial and pharmaceutical excellence.