book books Charles Dickens classics fiction leather old short stories story architecture Beirut big building city compare comparison contrast floors Lebanon monotony repetition rows short small stories tall tower urban visual accommodation angles angular apartments appearances arches balconies balcony complex contrasting dark Designs detailed distinctive domed elements exterior external glass heights high high-rise light linear lines modern modernistic multi-storey multi-story quality Rooms short-term structures style towering units value views windows dome arched apartment blocks box-like metal plain straight supports appearance box bay windows castellated construction crenellation crenels curtained curtains domestic domesticity façade historic home house intervals painted parapet period protruding roofing area structure suburban two-storey two-story view walls