ABC department store

Dbayeh (Lebanon)

2007

Completed / ArchitectureArea - 41,000m²

The client requested a new façade for the main building of the iconic ABC department store in Dbayeh, a suburb of Beirut, which is located on a major highway leading into the capital. 

The brand’s logo has been reproduced as a pattern that was then laser-cut into an aluminium screen which was wrapped around the building as a new exterior skin. 

The new silvery façade is a re-interpretation of moucharabieh, carved wooden latticework that encloses projecting oriel windows in traditional Arabic architecture . 

Backlit at night with LEDs, the department store becomes a dramatic, luminous icon at night.