The Beirut Design Week presents every year the work of different designers from all over the world, but this year the most interesting ones were for me Lebanese projects. It's not because i'm Lebanese, and i like Fayrouz and eat tabboulé, believe me or not i don't eat tabboulé and i only listen to Fayrouz when i'm abroad and homesick. So objectively the Lebanese designers were remarkable at the Beirut design Week presenting new creative ideas. I'll talk mainly about 3 of them.
The first is The Study Beirut; which is a collaboration aimed at experimental design and material research comprised of 3 designers: Tamara Barrage, Vrouyr Joubanian, and Lea Kirdikian. They presented at the Beirut Design Week a project called "exp I: synergy", the byproduct of their first collaborative project, delves into the sensory world of remedial herbs and culinary spices. Although spices are aplenty in Lebanon, spice shops are slowly vanishing from its daily existence. Wanting to capture this seemingly ephemeral experience, "exp I: synergy" is what is seen, heard, smelt, felt, and tasted in eternal suspension in all its beauty, resulting in a series of assorted coffee tables made out of spices and herbs.
The second project that grabbed my attention is Peeping tOms; derived from the act of framing, Peeping tOms are spatio-ocular devices designed to transform the experience of perceiving a photographic work. Reestablishing the intimacy between the observer and the observed, the device invites a second act of voyeurism that is often lost with traditional framing techniques. The one that was exposed on the walls of Beirut Design Week goes by the name of Pipas, and is the first prototype in a series of voyeurs.
The third project is called Shelter-me-not by Patil Tchilinguirian who is a visual communicator who wanted to show us in a creative way how much we waste electricity, water ... and how much it would be useful to less fortunate people.
What i loved about those projects is that they were equally creative and thoughtful , and showed once again how much Lebanese artists are talented and gutsy!
The first is The Study Beirut; which is a collaboration aimed at experimental design and material research comprised of 3 designers: Tamara Barrage, Vrouyr Joubanian, and Lea Kirdikian. They presented at the Beirut Design Week a project called "exp I: synergy", the byproduct of their first collaborative project, delves into the sensory world of remedial herbs and culinary spices. Although spices are aplenty in Lebanon, spice shops are slowly vanishing from its daily existence. Wanting to capture this seemingly ephemeral experience, "exp I: synergy" is what is seen, heard, smelt, felt, and tasted in eternal suspension in all its beauty, resulting in a series of assorted coffee tables made out of spices and herbs.
The second project that grabbed my attention is Peeping tOms; derived from the act of framing, Peeping tOms are spatio-ocular devices designed to transform the experience of perceiving a photographic work. Reestablishing the intimacy between the observer and the observed, the device invites a second act of voyeurism that is often lost with traditional framing techniques. The one that was exposed on the walls of Beirut Design Week goes by the name of Pipas, and is the first prototype in a series of voyeurs.
The third project is called Shelter-me-not by Patil Tchilinguirian who is a visual communicator who wanted to show us in a creative way how much we waste electricity, water ... and how much it would be useful to less fortunate people.
What i loved about those projects is that they were equally creative and thoughtful , and showed once again how much Lebanese artists are talented and gutsy!