The face a department store shows to the world is often of similar import to its success as the wares contained within. ABC, the largest such store in Beirut, asked nARCHITECTS to revise their image- a relic of 1980s construction and bring it into keeping with the quality and flare of their featured merchandise.
On the most prominent volume, and aluminum screen makes use of the company’s logo as a basis for cut-outs which provide views inside and out while also shading and reflecting solar gains with its light colour. At night, the appearance of this screen takes on a wholly different character, backlit from behind and becoming something of a beacon shown out over the nearby coastal waters. At street level on the main volume’s long-running 217′ facade, an artistic glass and light rod installation gives passersby brief views into the cafe within, while offering diners a dramatic view over the Mediterranean Sea.
The store is composed of four volumes of similar proportions and facade treatments. Each makes use, in some way, of the logo-inspired cut-out. Whether it be cut from a screen or used as a field of ornaments, these inclusions create a continuity that ties the forms together despite colour and material differences.
Courtesy of nARCHITECTS – Photos: Joe Kesrouani
