On site this week, our team is developing two concepts. The first is a visualisation, not yet a built building: pale stone volumes stacked and cut back, deep overhangs, timber slats over the main terrace. The pool sits along the glass edge, the roof terrace is planted above, and below there is a sunken seating pit with a fire bowl, held by dry stone walls. The second is Project 5354 Doha — two blocks with different apartment sizes, from simplexes to duplexes and roof units. The design uses deep inset balconies with planting boxes against light stone cladding.
And for the question people search Google for — permits — here is the practical picture. According to [blominvestbank.com](https://blog.blominvestbank.com/cumulative-construction-permits-fell-yearly-by-32-47-to-3315-by-july-2026/), cumulative construction permits in Lebanon fell 32.47% year-on-year to 3,315 by July 2026. That decline mainly reflected delays after the February conflict, continued strikes, higher construction material costs, and elevated transport and insurance expenses. But the same report shows construction activity decreased across most governorates except Beirut and Mount Lebanon, where it rebounded. The cumulative area authorised by permits fell only 15.33% to 3,711,690 square metres. That gap between permit count and area is the real story: fewer permits, but bigger, more serious projects.
The Orders of Engineers data compiled by [businessnews.com.lb](https://www.businessnews.com.lb/cms/Story/StoryDetails.aspx?ItemID=12471) for 2025 tells a similar story: 9,426 permits, down 16%, but approved area of almost eight million square metres, up 28%. Mount Lebanon has been the centre of gravity for years — in 2024 it took 33.7% of new permits and 31.4% of permitted area, according to [today.lorientlejour.com](https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1455331/number-of-new-construction-permits-in-lebanon-decline-in-2024.html) citing Byblos Bank.
That matters for rooftop engineering. After this week's storm, [today.lorientlejour.com](https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1491435/real-estate-association-warns-against-haphazard-solar-panel-installations-after-storm.html) reports the real estate association warned against haphazard solar panel installations, especially on old building roofs, and called for strict adherence to safety standards for wind speeds — which exceeded 90 km/h — and for roofs to bear the loads of panels and metal structures. The head of the Building Safety Network proposed a law requiring a permit for the structural framework of solar panels through the relevant municipality and the Order of Engineers, without extra fees or taxes. Until that becomes law, the practical advice for anyone in Lebanon is to treat rooftop solar, water reservoirs and planted terraces as a structural engineering question first, not a bolt-on.