“I refuse to be labeled as an architect of the
generation of war. I do not find interest in
architecture as a war machine, nor in the
war-torn building aesthetic. Beirut should
be architecturally represented as always
alive, forward looking, because forward is
the way of life,” Architect Karim Nader writes in For A Novel Architecture(2020).
The Lebanese architect is engaged in preserving the
architectural heritage of the city
of Beirut as well as optimistically
committed to acts of reprise in sites
scarred by destruction.
As part of his commitment to the
reprise of the city of Beirut, and in
addition to his projects to restore
iconic buildings from the modernist
era, Karim Nader has also worked
on several residential projects. His recent work, Anthony Apartment, located in the Port of Beirut speaks of this dedication.
Set on the 20th floor, its
modernist architectural references
brought to life in a play of lights and
shadows, colors and muted grays.
The apartment benefits from a
spectacular exposure to light and view. Maybe too much of an exposure, so much
light that it demands a darkening.
Combined with a certain affinity for modernity and the purity of its lines, clear
architectural references - Gerrit Rietveld, Le Corbusier, Eileen Grey... find their way as
the necessary accents in primary color of an otherwise neutral background.
How Modern Classics Add Color And Form To A Concrete Space
How Modern Classics Add Color And Form To A Concrete Space
The consistent grey cement palette on floor and walls is only contradicted by the
lightness of a natural wood ceiling where a Calder-like ‘mobile’ serves as a decorative
light accent. Dark corridor and apartment entrance serve as ‘blind transitions’ while
the multi-guest bedroom doubles as a yoga space and home office.
When Beirut eventually overlays itself in this modernist Mondrian-like collage, it is
once again its moving shadows that activate all perspectives of this multi-layered
city: north towards the port, south and east towards the mountains and west
towards the central district.
Caption: Karim Nader Studio. Anthony apartment in Beirut, Lebanon; couch | brand: Living Divani, model: Extrasoft, designer: Piero Lissoni; coffee tables | brand: Mogg, model: Illusioni, designer: Sebastiano Tosi; day bed | model: Barcelona, designer: Mies van der Rohe; armchairs | model: Wassily, designer: Marcel Breuer | Marwan Harmouhce
About The Architect
Karim Nader is an architect, teacher and yogi. Born in 1976 in Lebanon, he studied
at the American University of Beirut (Bachelor of Architecture with distinction,
1999) and at Rice University in Houston, in the United States of America (Master of
Architecture, 2003).
He has been practicing architecture for the last 20 years with work designed and built
in Lebanon and the world. He is currently running Karim Nader Studio, an architecture
and design practice based in Beirut. Since 2000, Karim Nader has taught at the
American University of Beirut, the Lebanese American University and the Politecnico
di Milano.
His references vary from Zen Buddhism to Western
philosophy in a liberty to quote from the hybrid roots that make the Lebanese
subject. The work of his studio as well as the fruit of previous collaborations has been
widely published in the international press with notable acclaim and recognition both
on built work and competitions.
For a Novel Architecture, his first retrospective book covering the years 2000 to
2020, was published in December 2020 by LetteraVentidue. The book was awarded
“Le Geste d’Or” in Paris in 2021.