jan

House of Arts and Culture by Mikou Design Studio, Beirut

Again a interesting building by Mikou Design Studio! This time the House of the Arts and Culture in Beirut that is inspired by the diversity of the many cultures.

Similar to Beirut, the House of the Arts and Culture is inspired by the diversity of cultures; stimulating the imagination by integrating the sensitivities of various artistic domains. This overlapping of cultural layers is a characteristic feature of the program, which creates a strong identity for the future House of Arts and Culture and hence refers to the iconic image of Beirut; city of cultural and historic sedimentation, nicknamed the “well” because of the various Hellenistic, Roman, Arabic and Ottoman layers.

That is why the building is not conceived as a monolithic mass, but rather in a manner to stage this overlapping of cultural layers and the process throughout which they become real spaces, transitional spaces for the exchange and intertwining of creativity.

Architect : Mikou Design Studio
Salwa Mikou, Selma Mikou, Cécile Jalby, Iskra Pencheva, Gwenaël Jerrett, Baharan Khosravi, Ludivine Specht
Client : Ministry of culture
Programme : Theatres, cinema, film library, exhibition space, training and work space, meeting rooms, cafeteria and commercial spaces, documentation center and administration.
Budget : 20 M €
Surface: 16 000 m²SHON
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Date : competition 2009