"I have wanted to become an architect since the age of three," says Hashim Sarkis, dean of MIT’s School of Architecture + Planning.
The town of Byblos, in Lebanon, is several thousand years old. Indeed, it may be the oldest continuously inhabited place in the world. But now this ancient settlement is the site of a sleek new modernist town hall: three angular cubes linked by a glass-encased ground floor, set in a park. In a fitting match of architect and project, the building's designer is Hashim Sarkis, dean of MIT's School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P). After all, Sarkis is a historically minded modernist who has spent years examining the architecture of civic institutions - town halls, schools, and other public buildings. He studied political philosophy while getting his PhD in architecture at Harvard University. A native of Lebanon and a long-time U.S. resident, Sarkis has global interests as a scholar and practitioner.
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