nARCHITECTS'
ABC Dbayeh department store is a landmark for Beirut’s most prominent
department store brand. The new department store seemingly grows up Dbayeh’s
hill to the east, away from the highway. The previous 200,000sf ABC building
has been expanded to create a stunning new ensemble. Four new elegant aluminum
and concrete volumes undergo horizontal and vertical shifts to respond to a
variety of site and zoning constraints, provide a variety of exciting interior
spaces, and break down the scale of the 450,000sf building.
The
internationally acclaimed New York City based firm nARCHITECTS, responsible for
the exterior, drew inspiration from the haute couture sold within and specifically
from ABC’s recognizable logo transformed into a dress-like pattern enveloping
the building’s four volumes. Encountered first in the westernmost volume by
passersby driving along one of Beirut’s most traveled highways, its silvery
façade is an LED backlit laser-cut aluminum screen, with apertures varying in
size from less than an inch to roughly 1.5 feet. In addition to creating a
luminous icon at night, the new façade reduces solar heat gain from western
exposure. Waste from nearly three thousand aluminum cut-outs have been reused
as façade elements throughout the remaining three volumes, which alternate in
tone between light and dark grey and met the project’s challenging budget.
A
range of features in this large new building relate to the scale of the visitor.
A 217ft-long structure-free glazed display along the Dbayeh Highway provides a
unique new space for dramatic art installations. Four new glazed entrances with
theatre-like displays and a panoramic window at Level 3 provide glimpses to and
from a new interior world. Diners on the new roof level restaurants will be
treated to a back-stage view behind the perforated screen, with framed views
out onto the Mediterranean Sea. nARCHITECTS’ goal in this project was, in the
words of Principal-in-charge Eric Bunge, “to create a dramatic and yet cohesive
ensemble, which visitors and passersby can experience differently depending on
the time of day or night. We aimed to create a moment of simplicity along the
increasingly animated Dbayeh highway. We wanted the building to stand out in a
sea of noise with a moment of silence.”
ABC
held an opening to celebrate substantial completion of the project in July
2012. Attendees included Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and 1,000 other
guests.
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