The seducing aspect of Beirut’s architecture will surprise and impress you. The city combines past and present, traditional and modern creativity, where stone and steel fuse perfectly. A journey into Beirut's architectural wealth. 

BEIRUT NATIONAL MUSEUM (1937). Conceived by architects A. Nahas and P. Leprince-Ringuet, the Beirut National Museum was inspired by the great Egyptian temples. Located on the boundary line that divided Beirut during the war (from 1975 to 1990), it was damaged and sacked, but the curators saved a major part of its collection. In 1995, the building was taken in charge and restored by the National Foundation for Heritage. The museum reopened its gates 4 years later offering a 7000 years old permanent collection. Since 1992 and till this day, ongoing Lebanese archaeological excavations continually feed the Beirut National Museum’s collection.

SURSOCK MUSEUM (1912; 1974). Built in 1912, this private mansion is the only Modern Art museum in Lebanon. In 1950, its owner Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock donated it to the Lebanese government that transformed it ten years later into a museum. Nowadays, it is well renowned for its monographic retrospectives of Lebanese painters, as well as for its Fall Exhibitions, which are devoted to itinerant contemporary exhibits.

CENTRALE. "Centrale Restaurant Bar" is the work of B. Khoury. Engaged in the steel consolidation used during its construction, the 3 story building conceals a unique hall of cathedralistic dimensions. The architect substitutes the traditional brick roof with a pipeline like structure to form the bar. Its opening roof turns the last floor into a balcony overlooking, from the north, the Gemmayze Street, and from the West, Down Town Beirut. [more]

SAHET EL BORJ. Known for a long time as "Canon Square", it was renamed "Martyr's Square" after the executions that took place in 1919. Sore spot of the old Beirut, its public garden, its musical stall, its palm trees and cinema are what made it famous in the 40s and 50s. Recently, archaeological digs uncovered the remains of the small ottoman seraglio destroyed in 1951. Since then the place is a vast no man's land animated by many artistic installations.

ELECTRICITE DU LIBAN. Between 1950 and 1970, Lebanon lived a prosperous period in all sectors. The State launched then many competitions aiming to make Beirut a modern metropolis. It is in this spirit that the EDL (Electricité du Liban) competition is launched. The key idea of laureate P. Neema, was to elevate a purist bar on pile, in order to promote transparency at the level of public place.

CITY CENTER (1970). A little to the south, we find a work of J.P. Karam: the City Center. Although the best preserved of all the buildings that were surrounding it, what remains is its particular concrete shell form. This particular morphology made this old cinema a popular place for rave parties.