On site this week we are between concept and render. The concept visualisation sets pale stone volumes stacked and cut back, deep overhangs and timber slats over the main terrace; the pool runs along the glass edge, a planted roof terrace sits above, and below a sunken seating pit with a fire bowl is held by dry stone walls. On 04/10 we checked the render: three blocks, beige facade, dark window frames, balconies with glass railings, hanging plants, forest on the hill behind. The visual is clean; the engineering underneath is less so. A planted roof, an edge pool and a fire bowl all add live load, and in Mount Lebanon those loads meet a specific regulatory moment.
According to [blominvestbank.com](https://blog.blominvestbank.com/cumulative-construction-permits-fell-yearly-by-32-47-to-3315-by-july-2026/), cumulative construction permits fell 32.47% year-on-year to 3,315 by July 2026, and authorised area fell 15.33% to 3,711,690 square metres. The bank points to delays after the February conflict, strikes, higher material costs and transport and insurance expenses. But activity rebounded in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. This is where the next cycle starts, and it will be a technical one.
The regulatory push is on the roof. According to [today.lorientlejour.com](https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1290359/why-is-building-an-extra-floor-made-legal-again.html), a law approved in December 2025 authorises an extra storey on existing and future buildings. For attics outside Beirut, height to the roof ridge may not exceed 4.5 metres; the roof must be tiled, and at least 15 percent of the roof area must be set aside for solar panels. The law also requires rainwater harvesting tanks of at least 5 cubic metres per household and a common area that includes a water treatment plant. For buildings with no defined elevation limits, the common area must be at least 40 square metres. This is not cosmetic. It is a structural demand: solar ballast, water storage and shared infrastructure on top of existing frames. For a practice that designs and builds, it means designing those loads from the beginning.
Energy context reinforces it. According to [today.lorientlejour.com](https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1543692/electricity-lebanon-seeks-to-catch-up-on-the-solar-boom.html), Électricité du Liban has fallen below four hours of daily supply. The Electricity Regulatory Authority opened an expression of interest in July 2026 for up to 350 MW of photovoltaic capacity with storage; the 2022 program awarded 165 MW but produced no operational plant. [blominvestbank.com](https://blog.blominvestbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Turning-the-Lights-On-Solutions-for-Lebanons-Electricity-Crisis-1.pdf) also reports a $250 million World Bank financing agreement to scale renewables and strengthen the grid, with average production projected to rise from 650 MW in 2025 to 1,013 MW by 2030. In the Bekaa, residents of Chmestar pooled $75,000 for a solar-powered drinking water well because the town gets two to three hours of public electricity. Water and power are now project scope.