beirut is making headlines once again. the city has bounced back, ridding itself from gloomy, if not dark connotations while adding new superlatives that even inspired the new york times to declare it the top travel destination of 2009. superfuture was in town earlier this year, checking out the obvious sights and glitzy places, but also attempted to dig a little deeper and see what else is there.
this superchat with jewellery designer dalila barkache has been long overdue, but here it finally is! we first came across the beiruti creative when she collaborated with comme des garçons to open one of the brand’s iconic guerilla stores in beirut back in 2007. moroccan-born and raised in france, she decided to settle here when she fell in love with the city during a chance visit.
you introduced the comme des garçons guerilla store in lebanon. how did that venture come about?
well, i knew about the brand and the guerilla store and liked it. i simply thought it would be a great concept to introduce to beirut. i just contacted comme des garçons and they were also excited to see one of their guerilla stores open up here. ofcourse i had done a little research before and knew it would be a good initiative. i set up the shop with my business partner and fellow jewellery designer selim mouzannar.
how did local shoppers respond to the store?
it was a great success. many who came by were already familiar with the comme des garcons because a few stores, like the if boutique stocked the brand. and also, because i had worked at selim mouzannar’s jewellery boutique as a designer, a lot of his customers also came to the store. additionally, it attracted quite a few shoppers from other countries like kuwait and saudi arabia. although we featured men’s and women’s apparel, it were the accessories and perfumes that were most in demand.
what have you been doing after the guerilla store closed?
i’ve been designing jewellery but i’ve also worked as a consultant for a other jewellery business here in town. by the way, i’m about to launch my new jewellery collection. next to designing i also work as a fashion stylist and i’ve also organized dance parties in cool spots such as the usually women-only ajram beach.
what do you think of the current influx of luxury brands into beirut?
well, the lebanese are very trend-conscious. they’re a vivacious bunch who love their food, fashion and good times, and they love to spend! it’s only logical that these brands come to town, especially now that the circumstances are right.
is this city a good place to settle for a designer or artist?
yes, i think it’s the perfect city to do so as it offers a good environment. first of all, it’s very easy to set up a business here. there’s a good education system and beirut is a good place from where to organize the marketing of whatever your business or craft is. additionally, the quality of life here is simply amazing.
where do you shop or hang out in?
the bourj hammoud area is a big fav of mine. it’s an armenian neighbourhood with lots of jewellery shops. i go there for fun or for business because many of the businesses i do consulting for, are located here. as for fashion, there are a few directional stores you shouldn’t miss: plum, boutique 1, one of the if boutiques or the store of designer rabih kairouz. if you’re interested in design, you should definitely check out bokja and artisans du liban. for eating out there are many good restaurants to choose from but i usually recommend places like centrale for international cuisine or varouj for delicious and spicy armenian food.
and what about places outside beirut?
i like tripoli a lot, it’s a beautiful city in the north of lebanon. or tangiers in morocco. generally, i like smaller cities which have a human scale, where everything is within a walking distance. places with a personal atmosphere and where you can eat well!
knowing where to party is one of tyler brûlé’s many talents. for the official launch of monocle magazine’s summer newspaper edition monocle mediterraneo, he heads for beirut to host an invite-only event at one of his fav spots [actually ours too...] on wed - aug 4. uh-uh, our lips are sealed. you’ll have to hook up with an in-the-know beiruti to join the jolly crowd and enjoy the related shopping perks. the slick one-off read features 64 pages of monocle-packaged intelligent lifestyle info, and should be seen as a more useful and reader-friendly news source for its seaside-vacationing followers than pad devices. but if you’re not lebanon or simply too intimidated to chat up a beiruti, a copy of monocle mediterraneo can be picked up at bookstores around the mediterranean and a few select ones elsewhere on the planet from as early as thu - jul 29.
oh my…this has got to be the new pinnacle of beirutmania. behold the versace damac tower, a fiercely glammed-up real estate concoction by dubai-based damac properties. this is one of many new multimillion dollar structures that redefine the lebanese capital’s downtown skyline, and in some cases also destroy its historic architectural legacy. construction of the 28-storey residential tower, two blocks down from the west marina in central beirut, has just started after it was halted for a few years. the building features 1, 2, 3 and 4-bedroom apartments and its main design feature is a rippling façade of glass that wraps around the exterior of each floor.
as the name implies, there’s a versace touch to this prestige project. its division versace home takes care of the interior design of all apartments. in fact, buyers can choose from two different design packages. each apartment is fitted out with a jacuzzi, steam room, and sauna. other facilities include multilevel parking and smart home technology. completion of the versace damac tower is scheduled for 2013. location: rue omar daouk [central beirut].
we’re almost losing count. hermès is the latest luxury brand to arrive in lebanon’s booming capital, opening up shop there on wed - jul 30. located on the ground floor of a listed historic building from the 1920s next to the new beirut souks mall, the new store measures 150 sqm. and is designed by paris-based architecture practice rdai, responsible for many of the brand’s flagships across the planet.
although retaining many of the building’s historic features, the store interior references to a great extent the grand hermès flagship on paris‘ rue faubourg st.-honoré. it will carry quite an extensive range of luxury goods, including the iconic bags and luggage plus small leather goods, ready-to-wear for men and women, silk scarves, jewellery and perfumes. location: rue allenby [central beirut].
it’s official: luxe is back in beirut. we’re talking the opening today of louis vuitton’s flagship store in the rapidly changing downtown area. the influx of upmarket foreign brands started a little while ago but the arrival of louis vuitton is an unprecedented step for the city towards becoming the middle east’s leading luxury shopping destination, and rivalling dubai’s current top position.
the store measures 270 sqm. spread over two floors of a restored 1920s townhouse and is designed according to the signature aesthetics laid down by house architect peter marino. this includes the use of beige and brown marble stone, off-white bleached wooden panelling and circular metal netting posing as the monogram flower. a collection of vintage trunks and luggage pieces is put on decorative display on the ground floor while lebanese artist marwan rechmaoui was commissioned window installations specifically for the opening.
louis vuitton’s new store carries the brand’s women’s collections of bags, shoes, jewellery and accessories while it also caters to male customers with men’s city bags, shoes and sunglasses. prior to the store opening louis vuitton c.e.o. yves carcelle threw a little dinner party where he rubbed shoulders with catherine deneuve, christian louboutin [who was in town to launch his own new boutique] and a slew of local dignitaries and glitterati. location: 103 rue allenby [central beirut].
geekfest’s second edition is coming up on sat - may 29 [8pm], once again featuring some pretty cool presentations by and for beirut’s e-generation. booked for the lineup so far are creatives dreamchaser, nadine feghaly, bir ghattas, moshumi nandy and elyse tabet. location: art lounge, adam’s factory, pierre gemayel corniche [quarantaine].
opening today at storefront for art and architecture is refuge, a photo show of dutch photographer bas princen [on until jun 26]. the work on display is the result of extensive research in five cities in the middle east and turkey: istanbul, beirut, amman, cairo and dubai. it’s a documentation of the spatial products of refuge, ranging from migrant worker camps to gated satellite cities in the desert or the proximity between abject poverty and extreme wealth. location: 97 kenmare street [nolita].
featuring directional brands such as tsumori chisato, pierre hardy, alexander wang, lanvin and 3.1 phillip lim in a stylish 700 sqm. retail space designed by lebanese architect raed abillama, concept store plum arguably is beirut’s leading fashion address. the store has recently spiced up its interior to provide a matching atmosphere for this season’s collections and a slew of newly available brands. so be sure to drop by when in town. location: berytus building, 2 park avenue [central beirut].
creative commons lands in beirut, staging its first cc salon tonight [7pm] at obros. the program is packed with creative stuff and is sure to attract hordes of like-minded spirits. click weblinks for more info. location: rue clemenceau [hamra].
this one’s for adventurous music buffs! the irtijal festival of experimental music is back in town on apr 6-9 and held at both masrah beirut [1] and the beirut art center. this 10th edition once again features a series of interesting gigs by a slew of lebanese and international bands and musicians, including scrambled eggs, franz hautzinger’s oriental space and court-circuit. location [1] rue graham [aïn al mreysseh]. location [2]: building 13, rue 97 [jisr al wati].
beirut is making headlines once again. the city has bounced back, ridding itself from gloomy, if not dark connotations while adding new superlatives that even inspired the new york times to declare it the top travel destination of 2009. superfuture was in town, checking out the obvious sights and glitzy places, but also attempted to dig a little deeper and see what else is there. so, we asked a few beirut creatives about their city and their craft. bernard khoury arguably is lebanon’s best known architect. considered controversial by some and brilliant by others, his work has an edge and often gives food for thought. superfuture had the opportunity to ask him a few questions.
after graduating from harvard you chose to return to beirut. why did you decide to do so?
in the early 1990s beirut just seemed fascinating as an experimental platform for an architect.
what was it like to establish an architecture practice in post-war beirut?
between 1993 and 1997 i went through 16 contractual engagements with clients, 16 projects that died in drawers. project number 17 was b018, the first project i ever built was for the entertainment industry.
professional life in lebanon seems very much intertwined with politics. how does that affect your work as an architect?
architecture can be a political act, in lebanon but also anywhere else. however, the situations i was confronted with in beirut were particularly explosive.
what is the current state of lebanese architecture according to you?
there’s no such thing as lebanese architecture. architects of my generation didn’t produce anything relevant during the so-called post-war era. our fathers’ generation was more politically engaged.
in an interview conducted by the new york times we read that you strongly criticize solidere’s commercial approach regarding the reconstruction of downtown beirut. has your opinion or the situation changed since then?
i don’t criticize solidere’s commercial approach. after all, the reconstruction of downtown beirut has been conducted by the private sector therefore it had to be financially viable. what i do criticize is their inability to produce contextual contemporary interventions.
the problem of solidere is that they are prisoners of an over-simplified past, a sugar-coated history and a sterile non-contextual future. this translates on the one hand, to a rehabilitation and bland replication of pre-french mandate architecture, and on the other hand, erecting sterile corporate buildings. they don’t create buildings that actually relate to the present.
we visited three of your structures here in town: b018, yabani and centrale. all three seem to engage in a dialogue with their respective surroundings. could you explain why you find that important?
b018, centrale and yabani were the first buildings i built. they are contextual interventions as they engage very clearly with their immediate social and political context. since then we have completed the construction of many other projects in different sectors. working for the banking or residential sectors allowed us to engage with more complex contextual parameters.
are there any contemporary lebanese architects that you admire?
i have hopes for the younger generation, those who haven’t yet got the chance to build. contemporary lebanese architects of my generation are producing crap.
how do you relate to the city professionally? and do you view the city differently from a personal point of view?
i don’t see a difference between my professional or personal views. besides, beirut is very difficult to capture in general terms.
what will downtown beirut look like 10 years from now?
it’ll look as polished and manicured as it does today.
are you an avid shopper? if so, what kind of stores or establishments do you regularly visit?
i am not an avid shopper.
issue #8 of beirut-based multilingual comics mag samandal will be launched at the beirut art center on wed - mar 31 [8pm-10pm]. simultaneously an exhibition of works created at the preceding 1 page - 0 words workshop will launch and illustrator fouad mezher signs the final issue of the educator. location: building 13, rue 97 [jisr al wati].
prior to next month’s 10th anniversary of the irtijal experimental music festival, two modern jazz-flavoured gigs are held at beirut art center on wed - mar 10 [from 8.30pm]. first innovative amsterdam-based dj sniff will do a one-hour dj set, followed by a concert of french and lebanese guitarists raymond + bastien boni and sharif sehnaoui and tony elieh [9.30pm]. location: building 13, rue 97 [jisr al wati].
check out the beyroutes book launch at the papercup bookstore on sat - mar 6 [5pm-7pm]. this guide book to the fascinating city of beirut is an initiative of studio beirut and is published by archis. the publication is for the true urban explorer and is a highly interesting source of off-the-beaten-track insights by locals and beirut connoisseurs alike. location: agopian building, rue pharaoh [mar mikhael].
contemparabia is a cultural travel program that lays bare the middle east’s many cultural treasures and showcases interesting contemporary art initiatives throughout the region. this year’s program is held mar 7-19 and focuses mainly on the fast re-emerging lebanese capital beirut. listed are a variety of activities, including art gallery visits, meets with contemporary artists and designers, plus the opportunity to indulge in the good life as savvy beirutis nowadays enjoy it.
through affiliation, the contemparabia program also offers the option to continue on to dubai for the annual art dubai fair held on mar 17-20. click [here] to register and/or receive further event information.
opening sat - feb 13 [7.30pm] at art lounge is beirut street art, an exhibition that showcases graffiti and street art by a string of lebanese and international urban artists, including red eye kamikazes, alonso & navarro, shepard fairey, ashekman soldiers and kokian. simultaneously, an eponymous publication will be launched in attendance of a few lebanese graffiti artists. location: adam’s factory, pierre gemayel corniche [quarantaine].
originally a laid-back offline gathering for the online generation in dubai, geekfest now expands to bustling beirut, launching there on fri – feb 5 [8.30pm]. next to chilled social talks there’ll be a slew of presentations and promos plus food + drink and what else? be there or be square! location: art lounge, adam’s factory, pierre gemayel corniche [quarantaine]..
beirut quickly rises from the ashes and meanwhile establishes itself as the region’s ritziest shopping destination. the latest luxury brand to arrive is burberry. it opened a store in the massive beirut souks mall downtown, the city’s latest shopping playground. the new outlet measures a respectable 250 sqm. and features the brand’s burberry london and burberry brit collections for men and women plus accessories, shoes and jewellery. location: rue allenby [central beirut].
you in beirut? if so, check out the noise exhibition at galerie sfeir-semler [on until feb 6]. curated by negar azimi and babak radboy for middle eastern contemporary arts mag bidoun, the show aims to ‘focus on the white noise of the white cube, wondering how much it matters which city, region, country, or peoples surround it. as it happens, it does matter, but perhaps not in ways expected. rather than curating works to illustrate problems plucked from a readymade critical lexicon, noise attempts to let these problems arise from, and give rise to, the works themselves, opening the door to the unexpected, and even to the uninvited. the exhibition’s point of departure is the space itself. its location in beirut gives it its critical acoustics, but it retains the conceited platonic generality of any clean post-industrial art space, anywhere in the world’. gallery location: tannous building, 4th floor, rue 56 [quarantaine].
issue #7 of beirut-based multilingual comics mag samandal will be launched at the centre culturel français on tue - dec 22 [6.30pm]. simultaneously an exhibition of handmade graphic novels will open. location: rue de damas [achrafieh].
these are the final days of lebanese painter/illustrator benoit debbane’s exhibition in loving memory at the running horse [on until nov 29]. on display are a series of satirical and cliché portraits of women who were part of the artist’s life and which mark a new phase in his work. location: sleep comfort depot, avenue charles hélou [medawar].
an interesting exhibition opens at the beirut art center on tue - oct 20 [6pm-9pm]. dubbed america, the show is an attempt to question the united states of america as a possible model of civilization. what does america mean in our collective unconscious? on display are 16 works by artists of different nationalities and backgrounds, living inside and outside of the united states. all these works reflect on aspects of american cultural, social and political life that have become of universal relevance. location: building 13, street 97 [jisr el wati].
comics mag samandal #6 is out now! although made in beirut, it features comics from various illustrators from all around the world in arabic, english and french. the new samandal issue is available at selected bookstores and newsstands accross the planet, including forbidden planet [new york], gosh comics [london], grober unfug [berlin] and librairie el bourj [beirut].
the beirut international film festival returns to town on oct 7-14 with a slew of interesting contemporary movies. this 9th edition includes a retrospective of italian film producer paolo benvenuti and a competition of arab feature films and arab short films. opening film is francis ford coppola’s tetro [2009]. main screening location: metropolis cinema, centre empire sofil, rue accaoui [achrafieh].
opening at the running horse on mon - aug 24 is photographer youmna habbouche’s show règle de trois. on display are a series of triptyches illustrating various details of her daily life as an artist and her relationship with her surroundings. location: sleep comfort depot, avenue charles hélou [medawar].
parisian deejay royalty comes to town! vincent belorgey a.k.a. dj kavinsky, spins electro house at beirut’s previously women-only ajram beach [1] on fri – aug 21 [9pm]. if you can’t make it, check out his second dj set in town at the basement [2] on sat - aug 22 [10pm]. definitely this weekend’s priority parties! location [1]: ajram beach, ain el mreisseh, opposite palm beach hotel [west beirut]. location [2]: charles hélou avenue [ashrafiyeh].
bokja is a beirut-based design studio run by designers hoda baroudi and maria hibri. heavily inspired by middle eastern cultures, their designs are an explosion of exotic motifs and colours, and now grace louboutin stores across the planet and matthew williamson’s recently launched new york flagship. this week, the very first bokja flagship store opened in saifi village, arguably the city’s premier shopping area. location: building 332, mukhailassya street [saifi village].
the 5th edition of the écrans du réel documentary festival launched today at centre sofil [on until apr 10]. organised by the centre culturelle française a series of 13 documentaries from across the planet are screened. location: malek avenue [ashrafiyeh].
contemporary art gains a brand new foothold in lebanon with the opening of the beirut art center on thu - jan 15 [6pm-9pm]. an initiative of curator sandra dagher and artist lamia joreige, it aims to produce, present and promote local and international contemporary art and cultural practices. the inaugural group show closer presents artworks drawn from personal and intimate stories which create a space reflecting on experiences common and unique. artists include mona hatoum, akram zataari and anri sala. location: jisr el wati, building 13, street 97, zone 66 adlieh [sioufi].
superfuture’s fav beiruti comics mag samandal throws an issue release party on sat - dec 27 [6pm] at the virgin megastore café…check it out, people! location: martyrs square [downtown].
