Handle With Care: A Story Of Conservation And Renovation Of Old Lebanese Houses
In 2016, renowned Lebanese architect Annabel Karim Kassar Architects brought the beauty of Beirut’s bustling architecture to Somerset House in London for the London Design Biennale. This year, AKK and her team of architects announced their ambitious restoration project within Beirut, the city that they so fondly promote around the world. Unveiled at Beirut Design Week, AKK Architects held an exhibition on the ground floor of a 19th Century Mansion at the end of Gemmayze, on Rue Gouraud Street – and with that they unveiled their admiral project entitled Handle With Care, Traditional Lebanese Architecture: A Story Of Conservation.
Handle With Care is a project to restore and renovate Beirut’s most beautiful buildings, starting with a building that AKK now calls her own. AKK herself purchased the historic three story mansion in the heart of Beirut, and she has recently announced her plans to restore it in the exact same manner that it was originally built.
A very generous movement given the fact that AKK purchased the house for it to be her own personal home, and has now opened its doors to exhibit it in an effort to promote Lebanon’s heritage and its architectural beauty.
Building began in April of this year and is expected to last for a duration of two years. The project is led by lead AKK Architect Rabih Zeidan, Interior Designer Violaine Jeantet, Senior Architect Nehmat Alameh, and Lighting Architect Mustapha Hijazi, as well as a wide array of local architectural and engineering specialists.
AKK’s passion is truly inspiring; in explaining the project, she explains the importance of preserving the building’s essence while adapting the building to modern times. “We will be meticulous in our preservation of the building’s fabric.There is an art not only in the restoration of historical features, but also in unobtrusively reinforcing the building and installing modern services such as water and electricity. However, we are not creating a museum; the completed space will be presented with an original take on modern living, with rooms arranged and furnished in a contemporary and surprising way. It is important to me that we show not only the beauty of historical architecture, but how well it can exist alongside our modern lives.”
