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Architects: Khalil Khouri
- Year: 1973
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Photographs:Walid Rashid, Camille Ammoun
In Beirut, a city marked by transformation, the Interdesign Building echoes the vision of an architect steadfast in his conviction. Designed by Lebanese architect Khalil Khouri in 1973 during a period of economic growth, the building took 23 years to build, a process halted by the onset of the Lebanese Civil War. By the time it was completed in 1996, the urban landscape that surrounded it had changed. The structure has stood largely unused since, as a relic of hopeful modernity. While its design is singular in its narrative and expression, this structure illustrates the tension between aspiration and struggle throughout its complex history.
The Interdesign showroom building was conceived during a time of expansion of Khalil Khouri’s furniture business model, with the intention of becoming the embodiment of the Modernist principles guiding his approach. Continuing a successful early career as an architect during the "golden years" of the Lebanese Republic, Khalil Khouri turned his focus to furniture design, continuing a family business. The Interdesign furniture manufacturing business began 20-30 years prior with the early custom works of his father, carpenter, and ebonist Elias El-Khouri. The sons Khalil and Georges Khouri continued the venture and launched the first modern furniture line in the early 1960s.
By designing and producing this new model of furniture locally, the Interdesign business democratized modern furniture design in the MENA region, making it an affordable option for the larger public. Khalil Khouri’s business model was characterized by a unique integration of design and manufacturing. He not only designed furniture but also owned and operated the manufacturing facilities where it was produced, a synergy that allowed him to innovate and develop specific technologies for furniture production. By the mid-1960s, the company became the region's leading producer of modern furniture and successfully began exporting products to challenging markets, including Europe and the United States. The Interdesign showroom building was supposed to become the face of this advancement.
The project for the showroom building was outlined in 1973, and Khalil Khouri acted as the architect, client, and developer. Construction began soon after, but it came to a stop in 1975 due to the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War. During the conflict, there were several failed attempts to continue the construction, which had reached ground level in April 1975, but no significant progress was made.
After the war ended in the early 1990s, the socio-economic landscape of Beirut had changed significantly. Despite this, Khalil Khouri was determined to finish the construction, despite the accumulating debt and the dwindling business prospects. The structure was finally completed in 1996, 23 years after it broke ground.
The architect designs and builds furniture in a factory that he has designed and built, with machines that he has designed and built. And now he designs and builds the showroom in which he's going to showcase his furniture. - Bernard Khoury
However, in the early 1990s, the socio-economic landscape of Beirut had changed significantly. Despite an ambitious vision and significant investments in the project, by the mid-1990s, the company faced bankruptcy due to changing economic conditions. The location of the showroom also changes its character, becoming less attractive for prospective visitors. For all of these conditions, the building was never used for its intended purpose. After being seized by the banks, several used were tested, including briefly as a training center, but the building was not well adapted to support these activities. It soon fell into disrepair and abandonment.
In May 2024, The building was revived for a four-day exhibition related to Khalil Khouri's life and work organized by his son and grandson, Bernard and Teymour Khoury, allowing the public to enter the enigmatic structure for the first time since its conception, 51 years ago.
The angular exterior volume of the building creates a recognizable Brutalist image. The shape is defined by the two towers rendered in exposed concrete separated by a narrow strip of glazing. The concave structure of the towers conceals the windows on their sides, contributing to the opaque and striking image of the building. At the top, a boulder-shaped roof separated from the main volume contributes to the visual impact of the edifice. Envisioned as the “head” of the building, it accommodates its administrative functions, including a small meeting room and the manager's office. At street level, two window displays, now sealed, were originally intended to offer a glimpse into the Interdesign showroom.
In stark contrast to its exterior, the interior of the Interdesign Building embodies a soft and airy atmosphere. Comprising 24 floors, the space is enveloped in an all-white palette that amplifies the influx of natural light. The disposition of stairs, voids, and interconnected levels has been designed to alternate positions between the viewer and the objects observed. As the architecture guides visitors through its spaces, the displays can be observed at times from above, below, or at eye level. In this way, Khalil Khouri practices a reversal of the typical interplay of architecture and object, not using furniture to highlight the space, but instead making the architecture serve and highlight the object.
The Interdesign building stands as a significant piece of architecture not only for its innovative design and ambitious vision but also as a poignant reflection of the socio-political and economic story of Lebanon. While many local architects shifted styles and progressively abandoned Modernism from 1970 onwards, Khoury continued to believe in Modernism as a philosophical movement, rather than merely a stylistic choice, a belief which is now embedded in the concrete walls of Beirut’s Interdesign building.
