Via 2bdesign
Lebanon’s architectural heritage is slowly disappearing and Beirut is quickly losing its traditional character as old houses, beautiful villas and Ottoman-style mansions are increasingly being destroyed and replaced with modern skyscrapers. Activists have been campaigning for years to preserve some of that heritage but time is not on their side as historical buildings are not being preserved by the authorities and will become beyond repair at some point.
Having said that, French Designer Benedicte de Vanssay de Blavous Moubarak and her husband Raja moved to Beirut few years ago and became immediately drawn to the unique style of traditional Levantine houses. In an attempt to salvage whatever is left of Lebanon’s disappearing architectural heritage, they began collecting discarded old wrought iron balustrades, railings and window frames from all over Lebanon and turning them into design pieces.
The couple created in 2006 2b design with the mission of “restoring the unseen beauty of the broken” and the name Beyt (House/Home in Hebrew and Arabic) was chosen as the flagship brand name. Their creations are now found in several countries and are sold through different retailers. Moreover, the company hires people with disabilities as well as those marginalized from society in order to transform their lives as well.
Of course the ideal would be to preserve these houses and restore them but unfortunately there are no serious plans to do so and there are many obstacles on the way. BBC made a nice report on 2b design which you can watch [Here]. You can also check out their [website] for further information.
I have never been fond of skyscrapers. I mean those tall building might be good for the likes of New York and Dubai. In Lebanon, however, what made the beauty of our coastal city were those vintage small houses. One could feel a sentiment of home emanating from them. A few of this old architecture is still present yet as you mentioned disappearing with time. I am happy that there are people who put the effort and time to preserve this heritage. I wanted to mention that while walking in Mar Mikhael, just infront of the Hangout, i seem to have stumbled on a space ( i dont know the word for it) that has gathered alot of old iron balustrades and the likes of it. i dont know if it belongs to this couple. Its worth mentioning to check it out if not.
Insane prices. So the heritage stays where it used to be: with the elites.