Charbel Abou Chakra CV & Portfolio 2026

CHARBEL ABOU CHAKRA

Architecture & Urban Design Portfolio 2024/2025

Charbel A. Chakra

MSc. Architect & Urban Designer

EDUCATION

2022 - 2023

Politecnico di Milano, Milan - Italy

Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Kaslik - Lebanon

| Network Oriented Architecture | Amsterdam - Netherlands 2025 - 2025

Assistant Architect & Urban Designer

Contributed to urban and architectural design development and Archicad/Revit BIM delivery within Dutch standards and regulations, supporting SO and VO phases and working in line with European tender and competition standards.

Theater Lampegiet - Veenendaal (Competition)

Zwembad Haarlem - Haarlem (SO & VO)

Sint Laurens Noord - Middleburg (Urban Design)

Glanerbrook Sports Park - Geleen

First United Co. | Kuwait City - Kuwait

BIM Architect, Project Coordinator

Shop drawing management - Project coordination (MEP + structure) - BIM coordination and negotiations with the subcontractors - Clash detection and reports - RFI Submittal

- Construction supervision

Building the Boubyan Bank Headquarters tower in the heart of Kuwait City.

Gruppo SPA | Milan - Italy

Urban Design & Architecture Assistant

Assisted with public space regeneration, architectural detailing, and interdisciplinary coordination for a civic-scale project in Naples.

Casoria Masterplan - Napoli, Italy

ADMIC - MAPMAR | Beirut - Lebanon

Architectural conception - Design - Site supervisionProduced shop drawings - Project management - 3D visualization - Restoration - MEP and Structural Coordination

Porta Fortuna - Restoration - Beirut, Lebanon Via Riyadh Mall - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Kfarhbab Residence - Kfarhbab, Lebanon Damour Beach Resort - Damour, Lebanon

- 2022

Agostine & Raphael Group | Beirut - Lebanon

Urban Design and Architectural Consultant (Part-time)

Hybrid work - Masterplanning - Demographic studiesPublic space design

ING City - Cambodia

Kampot Master plan - Cambodia

Karim Nader Studio | Beirut - Lebanon 2021 - 2022

- 2020

ACA (Arab Center for Architecture) | Beirut - Lebanon

Researcher

The work ranges from the archiving and preservation of documents pertaining to Arab modernism, and to the dissemination of knowledge. Expanding the center’s online database on modern architectural heritage in MENA.

Bernard Khoury/DW5 | Beirut - Lebanon

Architectural Intern

Design conception - Construction documents - 3D construction - Mechanical solutions - Site visitsMasterplanning

Urban Confluence Silicon Valley - California, USA Live Lofts Plot #1063 - Beirut, Lebanon

Maarif Showroom - Morocco

- 2019

-

Architectural Intern

Design conception - Construction documents - Model making - 3D construction - Rendering - Site visits

Camera Obscura - Saudi Arabia

The Crystal Fortress - Vilnius, Lithuania Centroplex - Beirut, Lebanon On the Rocks - Faqra, Lebanon Quai Louis Bleriot - Paris, France

| Doha - Qatar

RFI submittals assistance - Shop drawing assistance - Site supervision assistance

Doha Oasis Project - Nabil Gholam Architects

• Kozo, Math Rock Quintet Musician

•

SELECTED

Boubyan Bank Headquarters - Kuwait City

BIM Architect, Project Coordinator

My role was shop drawing management - Project coordination (MEP + structure) - BIM coordination and negotiations with the subcontractors - Clash detection and reports - RFI Submittal - Construction supervision building the Boubyan Bank Headquarters tower in the heart of Kuwait City.

• Urban Air Mobility | Inhabiting the Borders

Thematic Studio Grade: 29/30

Milan’s East Gate, a paradox of connectivity, is reimagined as a dynamic urban threshold. Where e-VTOLs, wetlands, and mobility corridors dissolve rigid borders, transforming transit hubs into civic ecosystems. 2025

2023

Urban Design Studio Grade: 30/30 • MilanOasis

Under the highway, a vibrant oasis blooms. Transforming neglected space beneath Tangenziale East into a vibrant urban hub in Parco Forlanini, bridging East-West sides with sports, culture, and green pathways for enhanced connectivity and community engagement.”

• Papushevo Park

Competition

A multi-functional park translated into a scattered-objects architectural approach creating a similar experience to finding lost artifacts in the forest.

• Colonia Marina di Calambrone

Architecture Design Studio Grade: 30 Cum Laude/30

Visionary waterfront developments on artificial islands, blending residential, commercial, and entertainment spaces with landmarks, urban parks, and amusement centers to create vibrant, sustainable communities.

BOUBYAN BANK HEADQUARTERS - KUWAIT CITY

Part of my work as a BIM Architect & Project Coordinator with First United Co.

LEGENDS

P-01 GRANITE PAVERS

P-03 COMPOSITE WOOD DECK

P-04 TERRAZZO TILES

P-05 POLISHED CONCRETE FINISH

P-06 MARBLE TILES

W-TC PORCELAIN TILES (PLANTER WALL FINISH)

M-DG DECORATIVE CRUSHED GRAVEL. BEIGE, 10-20mm DIA.

M-DP DECORATIVE RIVER PEBBLE WHITE, 50-75mm DIA.

M-BR BASALT ROCKS DARK GREY,50-75mm DIA.

M-BB BASALT BOULDER

P-02 PORCELAIN TILES HARD LANDSCAPE SOFT LANDSCAPE

P-CH CHAMAEROPS HUMILIS

T-HT HIBISCUS TILACEOUS

P-PD PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA

T-PF

S-BS BOUGAINVILLEA SPECTABILIS

S-BN BREYNIA NIVOSA

S-LF LEUCOPHYLLUM FRUTESCENS

GC-CM CARISSA MACROCARPA

GC-GR GAZANIA RIGENS

GC-LM LANTANA MONTEVIDENSIS

WOODEN MULCH DG-PS PENNISETUM SETACEUM

HYDROCULTURE PLANTS

LI-BB BUCIDA BUCERAS

LI-VM VEITCHIA MERRILLI

GI-SC SPATHIPHYLLUM CLEVELANDII

GI-EA EPIPREMNUM AUREUM

GI-CC CHLOROPHYTUM COMOSUM

GI-HH HEDERA HELIX

GI-SP SYNGONIUM PODOPHYLLUM

LIGHTING

LS-SB BOLLARD LIGHT TYPE 1

LS-HB BOLLARD LIGHT TYPE 2

LS-TUL TREE UPLIGHT

LS-STL BENCH LINEAR LIGHT

LS-PL PATHWAY LIGHT

LS-LP POLE LIGHT FURNITURE

LF-BN1 TIMBER SEAT ON PLANTER WALL

LF-BN2 PEBBLE

LITTER BIN

URBAN AIR MOBILITY INHABITING THE BORDERS

Thematic Studio 2024-2025

The Milan East Gate Hub, a strategic zone anchored by Linate Airport, Idroscalo Park, and Segrate Railway Station, embodies a paradox of connectivity. While Metro Line 4 links it efficiently to central Milan, the site’s intra-connectivity falters: three large infrastructures coexist as isolated islands, separated by underutilized buffers and rigid borders. Idroscalo’s aquatic leisure space, Linate’s airside logistics, and Segrate’s rail interchange operate in silos, their adjacencies fractured by fences, parking lots, and ecological degradation.

This project redefines the East Gate as a multi-scalar urban threshold, leveraging hybrid mobility and tactical spatial interventions. A key proposal integrates an electric VTOL network connecting Milan’s three airports (Linate, Malpensa, Bergamo), with a vertiport at LinateIdroscalo acting as an anchor. The VTOLs address regional mobility gaps (30% of missed air connections stem from slow ground transfers) while catalysing local synergies. Urbanistically, the vertiport is conceived not as a standalone terminal, but as a porous mediator: a colonnade of vegetated steel pillars softens the airside boundary, directing flows toward Idroscalo’s expanded wetlands, while a razorthin crimson polymer reinforced border compresses the vertiport’s air side, freeing space for public realms.

Critically, the design reactivates interstitial buffers through phased phytoremediation and modular boardwalks, stitching Idroscalo, a historic hydroplane basin, to Linate Airport. The project applies principles of mobility justice and programmatic porosity, transforming infrastructural borders into layered exchanges where transit, ecology, and civic life intersect.

Integrating Thresholds, Ecological Corridors and Infrastructure. The map illustrates the proposed buffer zones mediating the interface between Linate Airport, Idroscalo Park, and Segrate Railway Station. It highlights the intra-transitional framework, where urban ecological corridors facilitate a seamless shift from large-scale infrastructure to the human scale, enhancing spatial continuity, permeability, and multimodal connectivity within the Milan East Gate Hub.

Axonometric Synthesis

Hybrid Mobility and Ecological Corridors Inbetween Linate Airport and Idroscalo

Vertiport Air Side/Land Side

Rigid Airside, Porous Landside. Bridging Idroscalo and Linate

User Fluxes Diagram

Red - Ground Passengers

Orange - Goods

Yellow - Administration

Beige - In-transit Passengers

Pink - Bikers

Blue - Theater Visitors

Purple - Technical Teams

Land Side Composition

Avoiding the Existing Trees

The geometric logic of the land-side composition emerges from the living heritage of Idroscalo’s magnificent trees. Their radii and spatial imprints inform a design strategy that orchestrates built form and public realm in a seamless interplay of infrastructure and ecology. Rather than imposing rigid spatial order, the intervention maneuvers around these arboreal anchors, embedding movement, gathering spaces, and urban interfaces within their organic rhythms.

Masterplan

Green Avenue

a tree-lined avenue, with shared spaces, connects the metro station to Idroscalo, activating the corridor for active transportation and enhancing the experience through its natural surroundings

Café Crossroad

In the center of the green space, a café offers sweeping views of the lake and the nearby vertiport, creating a vibrant gathering spot where people can relax and connect as they pass through

Bicycle Hub

a central bicycle hub connected to the local network and new created bike path, offering repair services, a retail shop for cycling accessories, and secure parking, providing cyclists with convenient support along their routes

Plaza

It is the entrance to the vertiport, seamlessly merging modern amenities with nature. Featuring car rental services, Ian information point, fashion stores, a bookshop, a duty-free, and a café, it is both a functional plaza and a vibrant park. Open spaces are sheltered by canopies, surrounded by lush greenery, and enriched with diverse seating areas, offering a harmonious natural setting.

Bicycle Path

A bicycle lane along the lake provides a pleasant and scenic route.

Platforms

a walkway along the water, with small platforms placed at intervals, creating spaces for relaxation and a connection to the natural surroundings

Pier

the newly constructed pier not only facilitates transportation across the lake but also offers visitors the chance to rent boats, adding a vibrant new dimension to both leisure and entertainment on the water

Dock

the original dock has been preserved and reactivated, now thoughtfully incorporated into the new design without any modifications

Outdoor Theater

a multifunctinal stage designed for live performances, equipped with a large screen for hosting film festivals and multimedia events

MILANOASIS

Urban Design Studio 2023

The MilanOasis project transforms the neglected space beneath the Tangenziale East (A51) into a vibrant urban hub cutting through Parco Forlanini.

Leveraging the area’s potential, this initiative introduces a dynamic recreational oasis that bridges the park’s East and West sides by incorporating sports facilities, cultural venues, and enhanced pedestrian and cyclist pathways, the design fosters social interaction, cultural exchange, and environmental stewardship.

The project not only revitalizes the park’s infrastructure but also positions Parco Forlanini as a distinguished landmark in Milan, redefining urban connectivity towards the city’s east gate hub and community engagement.

The Green Ring, or Orbital Park, is a network of green spaces connecting Milan’s city center to its outskirts.

It integrates existing parks and new developments, with Parco Forlanini on the east playing a key role.

The system links various zones around the city through “green rays,” forming a continuous, interconnected green corridor.

PAPUSHEvO PARK

Competition 2021

“Things got scattered out of the bag

On the floor.

And I think

That the world

Is just a grin”

-

Velimir Khlebnikov (1908)

At the entrance of Papushevo Park, visitors are greeted by a lifted landscape onto which sculptural architectural elements fall and create wondrous spaces. The paths and functions meander, creating a similar experience to finding lost artifacts in the forest.

First greeted by the commercial center’s welcoming sculpture and water feature, a path opens towards the rest of the commercial space it twists through restaurants and cafes towards the spa and fitness center at the project’s calmest and most serene and ends in an opening towards the sculptural park. The sculptural park is a journey guided from object to the next including sculptures, an amphitheater, and a bathhouse, above bodies of water and landscapes and through the preserved thicket of trees always in view of the gallery which serves as an exhibition space for all kinds of local art events. The primary school stands from one side as an ethereal monolith, broken in the middle by the colors of joy and the forms that follow it. Its form allows for privacy from one side and an introverted vibrant space from the other. In contrast, the management company is a set of floating boxes inside a threedimensional grid coated with a simple glass façade that creates stimulating spaces while promoting transparency and a collaborative workspace.

The park displays a duality of wandering ; an authoritarian promenade which is defined by a path to be followed, and a cinematographic promenade where people are able to infiltrate the landscapes creating different visual frames dictated by the scattered follies.

COLONIA MARINA DI CALAMBRONE

Architecture Design Studio 2024

The MilanOasis project transforms the neglected space beneath the Tangenziale East (A51) into a vibrant urban hub cutting through Parco Forlanini.

Leveraging the area’s potential, this initiative introduces a dynamic recreational oasis that bridges the park’s East and West sides by incorporating sports facilities, cultural venues, and enhanced pedestrian and cyclist pathways, the design fosters social interaction, cultural exchange, and environmental stewardship.

The project not only revitalizes the park’s infrastructure but also positions Parco Forlanini as a distinguished landmark in Milan, redefining urban connectivity towards the city’s east gate hub and community engagement.

The MilanOasis project transforms the neglected space beneath the Tangenziale East (A51) into a vibrant urban hub cutting through Parco Forlanini.

Leveraging the area’s potential, this initiative introduces a dynamic recreational oasis that bridges the park’s East and West sides by incorporating sports facilities, cultural venues, and enhanced pedestrian and cyclist pathways, the design fosters social interaction, cultural exchange, and environmental stewardship.

The project not only revitalizes the park’s infrastructure but also positions Parco Forlanini as a distinguished landmark in Milan, redefining urban connectivity towards the city’s east gate hub and community engagement.

Inspired by the iconic arches of neighboring Pisa, we pay homage to their historical and cultural significance, from the Medici family’s hospital to the natural arches found in the region’s caves. In our reinterpretation, structural arches remain upright, preserving their integrity and function, while all non-structural arches are flipped, creating a bold interplay of tradition and innovation, connecting the past with contemporary design.

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC

AXONOMETRIC DRAWING

By Laudy Issa March 7, 2019

Competition published in L’Orient Le Jour, Beirut Brightside Magazine, ArabAd Magazine, Vice Arabic, and Beirut Today.

Conducted an interview with Laudy Issa from Beirut Today discussing the potential futures of the project which was later on discussed with national political figures.

A team of five students designed an architectural project that transforms the Beirut River into a multipurpose public outdoor space with a green tower

Architecture can be more of a social statement and an environmental act than just walls, floors, and spaces,” said Charbel Abou Chakra, one of students behind the “Generation Poubelle” [Garbage Generation] project.

The innovative project recently won the Johnnie Walker “Keep Walking Expo,” selected by judges and expo visitors after competing with other architecture, interior design, film, graphic design, product design and fashion design projects from students across the country. Over 200 projects creatively interpreting the phrase “Keep Walking Lebanon” were initially submitted for the competition but only 14 were selected to be showcased at the expo

Behind the project, and mentored by esteemed Lebanese architect Bernard Khoury, are five students: Charbel Abou Chakra, Kay Bardawil, Charbel Corbani, Nahi El Khoury, and Michelle Norenzian.

The release of Tokyo Metabolist Syndrome, a post-rock album and a sonic interpretation of the Japanese Metabolist movement

Tokyo Metabolist Syndrome - KOZO Concept Album Release

Tokyo Metabolist Syndrome, concept album released in 2019. A sonic interpretation of the japanese post-war metabolists.

With Andrew Georges, Georgy Flouty, Camille Cabbabe, and Elie El Khoury

CHARBEL ABOU CHAKRA

Via Palmanova, 67 Milan, Italy

abouchacra.charbel@gmail.com +39 347 835 9095