Project story · Alexandria, Egypt
A tower that gives its ground back
On Alexandria's seafront, The Beacon sets a slender tower on a garden of terraces. The base belongs to the promenade; the shaft above belongs to the sky.
By byJOOM · The Beacon · Mixed-use · Hospitality and resorts
One gesture, base and shaft
The Beacon is designed as a single gesture, not a tower placed on a podium. Garden terraces step down from the shaft and meet the promenade, so the building gives its ground back to the city. The slim, curving profile catches the light from the sea and can be read from far along the coast.
A public base, a private tower
The idea is simple and generous: the base is public and the tower above is calm and private. People arrive along the waterfront and are drawn up through terraces of planting rather than into a closed lobby. The entrance is something you walk into slowly, past palms and low light, before the building asks anything of you.
A canopy of curves
At the base, a long curving canopy sweeps over the entrance, its edge picked out in warm light. Palms stand in front of it and the plaza runs right up to the glass. The same curve returns in the terraces above, so that the base and the tower speak the same language of soft, flowing lines.
Planting that does work
At The Beacon, curving, planted terraces step down to the street. They are decoration, but they are also climate, shade and a softer edge for a busy coastal road. A slender, softly curved profile and planted terraces also help soften the wind at the foot of the tower, which matters on a seafront.
A clear silhouette, a generous public edge and local planting give it the presence of a landmark rather than a trend.
For the evening walk
The building is meant for the guests, residents and workers who use it and for everyone who walks the promenade in the evening. That second group is easy to forget in a tower, and the design does not forget them. The gold-lit edges of the terraces make the base a place to pass through at dusk, not only a place to pass by.
A landmark without a trend
A clear silhouette, a generous public edge and local planting give The Beacon the presence of a landmark rather than a trend. It is a design for the long view of a coastline: recognisable from far away, and kind to the pavement at its foot.
This article describes design intention. The images are design visualisations, not photographs of a finished building. See the Disclaimers.