Completed in 2020, the Jabba Library in Jbeil, Lebanon, designed by the studio based in New York Atelier Pagnamenta Torriani (A*PT), had never been shown to the general public because the professional photos that had been taken had been lost after the tragic explosion of the port of Beirut and the subsequent economic crisis.

The project, commissioned by the Lebanese American University, consists of a library and an administrative building and has been realized taking into account the symbolic value of the place as well as the environmental needs. Jbeil (Byblos) is the city in which the phonetic alphabet was first codified by the Phoenicians, and is characterized by a strong luminous impact, also the site is located next to a mountain, partially excavated and with exposed sedimentary debris.

A*PT chose the path of passive architecture, creating a building with a structural double skin that allows shading and ventilation, with a large central atrium that acts as a chimney. The building is slightly detached from the rock, which allows the sea breeze to circulate pleasantly outdoors. The building is characterized by the contrast between solidity and transparency. During the day its facades appear opaque, then become more permeable as the evening approaches and the light falls. A concrete wall shows the letters of the four alphabets used in the region, as a tribute to Jbeil and a symbolic bridge between past and future.