Tag Archives | architecture

What Al Murr Tower Was Supposed To Become

By Rami on March 28, 2018 in Architecture, Uncategorized

I was searching for some info about Al Murr Tower last night when I stumbled upon some interesting stuff about it. I actually always knew the structure was built by Michael Al Murr back in the 70s but I never knew Solidere had plans for it in the90s.

According to this article from The Daily Star in 1999, Solidere claimed the tower in exchange of shares from Michael Al Murr as part of the reconstruction plan for Beirut cnetral disctrict, and was originally intending to demolish it and replace it with another high-rise building to house their headquarters in addition to office spaces for other companies and a rooftop restaurant on the last two floors.

The whole thing however was called off when Michael Al Murr felt unsatisfied with the terms of the sale and asked for his tower back. You can read all about it here.

Other sources on Facebook also claim that the reason nothing was done with the tower during all the past years is basically due to the damage incurred to the building structure during war days which probably can’t allow for further works to be performed, but I’m not sure how credible is that.

I know the everyone simply just got used to the tower its area was even named after it, but with all the fancy buildings nearby, it looks really ugly now and I don’t mind having it demolished. Doing it with explosives would make a good I guess! Otherwise, allowing graffiti artists to take it over would also be a cool idea.

Second photos via Beiruti Atik FB Page

Inside the $27M Penthouse in Sama Beirut

By Rami on March 20, 2018 in Architecture

Check out this video shot inside a 1,400m2 two floor penthouse apartment in Sama Beirut that is reportedly selling for a whooping $27,000,000.

Needless to say it is massively big and sports an amazing 360 degree view of Beirut, with a pond on the 1st floor and a pool on the second. Watch the video and eat your heart out! 😛

The video was by the way taken by a guy called Thor from Denmark who left his home country in 2013 to travel the world countries without flying. On December 2017 Lebanon became the country number 143 on his list and you can follow his journey here.

via reddit

Raising Awareness on Modern Architectural Heritage in Lebanon

By Rami on March 13, 2018 in Architecture

Banque Libano-Française recently started a blog to engage people with the progress made to build their new headquarter in Charles Helou area, and they’re taking advantage of it to also raises awareness on modern architectural heritage in Lebanon by talking about 12 significant landmark projects which influenced the architecture scene in the country between 1926 and 1997.

As part of this project, the Director of the Arab Center for Architecture George Arbid will be sharing interesting notes, pictures, plans, sketches and studies once every week on a certain building/structure around town.

So far they covered Charles Corm in Achrafieh, Saint-Georges Hotel, Carlton Hotel (demolished in 2008), and Starco building. The presented info are quite interesting and will certainly make you see the buildings that still exist nowadays from a really different perspective.

They still have 8 buildings to talk about and you can follow the series here.

Beautiful Shoebox Apartment in Achrafieh

By Rami on February 12, 2018 in Architecture

Check out this cool shoebox apartment up in Achrafieh up for rent on Airbnb that recently made it to dezeen.com. While 15 sqm are barely enough space to cater for a bedroom or a living room in some modern apartments nowadays, Lebanese architect and designer Elie Metni squeezed everything a person could need into a mini apartment of the same size.

To make it feel relatively spacious, the apartment was all painted white and fitted with custom made space saving furniture including a queen size bed and folding tables to keep the 2 meters wide room as neat as possible the whole time. A kitchenette and a bathroom are also available and separated by a glass door, in addition to an outdoor roof terrace overlooking Beirut.

Practically speaking, the apartment can sleep 2 people but accommodate around 5. You can read all about it on dezeen and if interested rent it through Airbnb.

AUB Chosen Among the Most Beautiful Universities in the World

By Rami on January 7, 2016 in Lebanon

american university of beirut

“The Most Beautiful Universities in the World” is a recently released book by photographer Guillaume de Laubier and French literature specialist Jean Serroy. The book features the most beautiful institutions from around the world and the American University of Beirut was unsurprisingly among the 23 chosen ones.

University of Bologna was ranked first in the book and the list included the Sorbonne in France, Cambridge University in England, Yale University in the United States, Qatar University and several other architecturally significant universities.

The American University of Beirut was established in 1866 which makes it one of the oldest academic institutions in Lebanon and is definitely one of Beirut’s landmarks. With more than 60 buildings and several libraries spread over an area of 250,000m2, the campus is well known for its extensive green space and for offering the neighbors in Bliss street and the surrounding areas an unimpeded view to the sea thanks to its low rise construction.

Bernard Khoury’s penthouse in Beirut

By Rami on January 7, 2014 in Lebanon

Bernard Khoury, the Lebanese famous architect who’s known for many projects like B018, Centrale, and many other places, had his penthouse featured in The Wall Street Journal last month.

This spacious penthouse in Beirut is owned by 45-year-old Lebanese architect Bernard Khoury. He chose a home with its hodgepodge city view over the more sought-after romantic sea view. It happened by circumstance, when his friend, Marc Doumit, a developer, bought the land on Damascus Road at a low price in the late 1990s after it had been sitting deserted for nearly a decade following the end of the 15-year civil war. Mr. Khoury’s family moved in last year.

The penthouse is 400 square meters with 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, a swimming pool and an awesome view over Beirut and the mountains! You can check more photos of it here.

via @LaCeline

Yet another old house gets demolished in Beirut

By Rami on February 1, 2013 in Lebanon

I really felt sad when I learned this old house in Ain El Mraisseh is being demolished as I know some of its previous owner (The Nsouli’s), and I know how beautiful it was from the inside.

But then again, at a time when the government has no plans to acquire these old houses and protect them, you just can’t expect people to keep preserving heritage buildings while the real estate market in the country is booming.

ABC Dbayyeh expansion

By Rami on October 20, 2011 in Lebanon

Passing by Dbayeh you can’t but notice the expansion work underway at ABC. Below is a sneak peek of how the mall will look like once all is done, and you can check here for more photos.

Looks sexy to me!

Via Kell Shi.