mikou design studio: house of arts and culture, beirut

house of arts and culture, beirut by mikou design studio image courtesy mikou design studio

the house of the arts and culture, beiruit by french firm mikou design studio is influenced by the diversity of cultures in lebanon;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.

image courtesy mikou design studio

image courtesy mikou design studio

image courtesy mikou design studio

image courtesy mikou design studio

image courtesy mikou design studio

project info:

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 m2 shon location: beirut, lebanon date: competition 2009