The Most Memorable Moments from the Inaugural WE Design Beirut

For four days, the event, which was founded by Mariana Wehbe in partnership with industrial designer Samer Alameen and Bananamonkey. Presented Lebanese design in various venues of historical or architectural importance across the city.

“We Design Beirut is a platform dedicated to the rebirth of Lebanon’s design identity in the world,” said Wehbe in a statement.  “The ‘We’ signifies the synergistic effort and dedication of the many parts of the design landscape, a diverse ecosystem of artisans, creators, collectors and creatives, in Lebanon and the diaspora.”

The festival is reflective of “the unwavering belief in the magical creative spirit of Beirut,” notes Wehbe, and its importance in “reviving the city, economically, emotionally and socially.”  

Creativity, emphasize both Wehbe and Alameen, is the heartbeat of Beirut. It is their mission through the event to bring the Lebanese creative pulse back to life during a period of ongoing hardship.

“This feels like the Beirut of six years ago; it has brought so much fresh energy to the city,” said Salamoun.

The event was divided into three main showcases: the Preservation Hub in Villa Audi, the Empowerment Hub at PSLab, presenting a range of Lebanese crafts and the Sustainability Hub at Abroyan Factory, where a former 1940s textile factory that now serves as a restaurant and bar presented works by students at five universities and recent graduates as well as producers of eco-friendly materials in Lebanon, such as Plastc Lab, a Lebanese startup that recycles plastic to produce sellable products and Juzur that uses sustainably sourced wood and local wood carvers from Tripoli, Lebanon.

Inside the main atrium of Villa Audi, a glimmering mirrored sculpture by Milia Maroun titled Objeu-Closer Together cast glimmers of light around the surrounding spaces. The spotlighted piece, flanked by the building’s prominent Roman columns, first appears flat, but is an organic three-dimensional shape where separate limbs placed into the ground extend up to the ceiling. The work, explains Maroun, “symbolizes hope amidst conflict,” signifying how what often separates us also brings us together.

In an adjacent space, an impressive long table by Samer Bou Rjeily titled Sands of Welcome showcased the seamless fusion of natural elements. The table’s top is made from recuperated teak Burma wood, intricately immersed in sand from Lebanon’s southern coast which gives it a unique weathered texture and character. The legs of the table and seaters are sculpted from premium local sandstone to celebrate Lebanon’s Phoenician heritage.

“I used local sandstone because I wanted to remind people of our roots,” said Bou Rjeily. “Sandstone was used to build everything during ancient times.” The table, he explains, is higher than normal table. “People can work around it, receive and display items.”

Positioned artfully on top of the table was a grouping of intricate brass jewelry boxes by Nada Zeineh with delicate engravings were inspired by the work of late Lebanese artist Huguette Caland.

In a nearby room, design pieces by Roula Salamoun, Tarek Moukaddem and Saccal Design House offered a burst of vibrant color on whimsical and endearing design pieces. Salamoun’s “Archipelago Collection,” which includes forest green sofas and armchairs is inspired by insular landscapes and the visual language of archipelagos. They were stationed freely around an anamorphic shaped “Strata” carpet made in collaboration with Lebanese carpet maker Iwan Maktabi with green and blue colored curved shapes that echo those of the chairs.

The “Manti” table by Moukaddem draws inspiration from the aesthetic heritage of the Levant region and celebrates modern design sensibilities with Lebanese craftsmanship. The display was further heightened by “Nostalgia Lamps” by Saccal Design House, inspired by summers passed in the Lebanese mountains and the multicolored stones that can be found there.

Ahmed Bazazo presented his “Drape Collection” with custom finished light structure is made from a simple steel pipe and applied with an artisanal finish to give it an earthy and brutalist finish.

Other notable venues of WE Design include PSLab, an internationally acclaimed lighting firm with an office in Paris. Its Beirut structure was blown out after the August 4, 2020, explosion. Within this ruined space, the Empowerment hub presented a selection of works by Lebanese craftsmen, using such traditional materials as wood, rattan and copper. We Mediterranean presented a makeshift housing concept from bamboo and rattan holding up large pieces of fabric in a tent-like formation designed by seven Italian architects and executed by Lebanese artisans Skaff, Ajialouna and Elie Morcos. After Beirut, the project will tour various locations in the Mediterranean. Other popups in PSLab included Pik’d Lab offering a range of ceramic and glass pieces and The Ready Hand, a platform dedicated to enhancing and preserving the community of Lebanese artisans across the country.

Several exhibitions also highlighted the works of past and present architects and designers offering a sense of historical continuity. These included Carpet maker Iwan Maktabi’s “Forgotten Spaces,” designed by Thomas Modeen whose decorative and versatile carperts can be used also on walls and doorways; Swirlmania by Nada Debs, a new collection of over 20 handcrafted tables crafted with a various Lebanese artisanal techniques characteristic of her practice; and “All things must(‘nt) pass,” a retrospective of work by avant-garde and modernist architect and furniture designer Khalil Khouri curated by his son and renowned architect Bernard Khoury and his grandson Teymour Khoury inside the Interdesign building in Beirut. An edifice normally closed to the public; the construction of the iconic brutalist structure was halted during the Lebanese Civil War during the 1970s. It was resumed and completed in 1997 and then abandoned. The show opened the building to the public once again, presenting a variety of photographs, drawings, architectural models and furniture by Khouri giving historical context to the history of modern Lebanese design and architecture.

Taking place during a moment of intense hardship for Lebanon and the surrounding Levant region, WE Design Beirut, breathed new life into Beirut, once one of the Arab world’s most prominent cultural capitals. Its creative pulse, as exemplified last week, is still very much alive, hopeful and determined.

“It’s a miracle that the event took place,” said Bazazo. “We haven’t staged any major shows in Beirut since around 2018. Most of us designers now show our work abroad due to the various challenges in the country. WE Design Beirut brought us back home. It has offered us hope.”