Lebanon is known for its millenary culture, and Lebanese architects are a part of it, using their projects to communicate with the environment and with the current challenges in architecture. To celebrate Lebanon’s Independence Day on 22 November, we have selected seven offices to learn more about contemporary Lebanese architecture.
Located in the eastern Mediterranean, Lebanon was home to the Phoenicians, an important maritime culture known for the legacy of the first verified alphabet. Today, the country lies in a strategic geographic region and has witnessed several political and economic conflicts that resulted in significant migration waves to Europe and America. Consequently, Lebanese culture has traveled to become known all over the world, establishing communities in other countries, such as Brazil and the United States.
Architecture also celebrates culture, so we have selected some of the offices and contemporary architects in the country to learn more about their rich production.
Hala Younes, Architecture and Landscape
Hala Younes is an architect, geographer, and professor. In her professional practice, as well as in her teaching, Hala Younes takes a close look at the complexity of territories and their histories before initiating the architecture and landscape design projects. At her architecture Studio, founded in Lebanon in 1995, Hala Younes is committed to producing and disseminating knowledge and awareness tools regarding new urban realities. In 2018, she initiated the first Lebanese National Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
platau
Founded in 2010 by Boulos Douaihy, Sandra Frem, and Romeo Chahine, platau is a collaborative platform for architecture, urbanism, and landscape design. platau uses design research, critical thinking, and intensive communication to create projects that are adaptable to the needs of their users and environments, as well as their evolution over time.
DW5 / Bernard Khoury
DW5 is a Design production facility for developers, architects, planners, and designers, providing the necessary resources to support the successful development of design projects. The workshop is an open platform for a growing number of collaborators and was founded by the award-winning Lebanese architect Bernard Khoury, who started an independent practice in 1993. He was the architect and co-curator of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national pavilion at the Venice Biennale’s 14th International Architecture Exhibition in 2014.
BLANKPAGE Architects
Driven by the desire to produce architecture of high quality and craftsmanship, the studio’s goal is to start every project from a blank page, I.e., without preconception of form or style. Established by Walid Ghantous, Patrick Mezher, and Karim Nader (left in June 2016), BLANKPAGE is a collaborative design studio of architects, urban designers, and engineers founded in the year 2008. The studio's experience ranges from public buildings to residential and commercial developments.
YTAA - Youssef Tohme Architects and Associates
Founded in 2008 by Youssef Tohme, YTAA experiments with materials and context to deliver buildings that evolve and transform with time and as they are inhabited. The practice is more about the experience of living the project than merely defining its shape, creating experiences that empower the visitor rather than empower the architects.
Raed Abillama Architects
Raëd Abillama Architects is an Architectural firm founded in 1997, which provides services in building design, interior design, and industrial design. Their methodology is based on their experience in fast-track projects with high-quality finishing. A team approach facilitates the integration of technical, economic, and management expertise into the planning and design of each project.
Hashim Sarkis
Before establishing Hashim Sarkis Studios in 1998, Sarkis worked for several design firms and was on the faculty of many universities in Lebanon and the United States. Sarkis is also the author of several books and articles. The studio is invested in the constructionist possibilities of architecture, in the ability of buildings to project new worlds and to inspire new forms of inhabiting this world.
Learn more about Lebanese architecture here.
