Tobacco Régie in Hadet

1956-1959

Jacques Marmey

Between 1955 and 1968, the Tobacco Régie launched several architectural competitions for factories across the country, many becoming an opportunity for architects and engineers to experiment in structures.

The first Régie in Hadet, a large complex totaling 75,000 sq.m. South of Beirut, was won by Jacques Marmey.

In the storage and production areas, truncated conical surfaces on the roof capture the harmless northern light between a low and a high arc.

The effect is of extreme elegance with a span of 20 meters and a section thickness varying from 16 cm at the base to 6 cm at the highest point. Other forms of light-catchers were later executed in several regional tobacco factories.

The administration building offers on the west façade a masterful play of sunscreens that surreptitiously incorporate a number of balconies serving the offices.