Annabel Karim Kassar designed the exhibition / PHOTO: Mark O’Flaherty
French-Lebanese architect Annabel Karim Kassar is giving a talk at the V&A London about her exhibition The Lebanese House: Saving a Home, Saving a City that explores the aftermath of the catastrophic 2020 Beirut port explosion.
The exhibition, which opened in June at the V&A South Kensington, features a 5m-high recreation of the facade of a traditional Lebanese home that was built in the museum by Beruti craftsmen using sandstone shipped from the Lebanon. It also features a series of emotional and thought-provoking specially commissioned films that explore the social and emotional impact of the explosion, which killed more than 200 people, injured more than 7,000 and destroyed part of Lebanon’s cultural heritage.
“This exhibition is special to me,” Karim Kassar told Attractions Management, speaking at the V&A. “An architecture installation is very different to an architecture project, when you’re working for a client. Architecture installations are very personal, and allow me to express my ideas and convey my message, which is social, emotional and artistic.”
The aim of the exhibition, said Karim Kassar, was to provide a space for visitors to sit and reflect on the impact of the bombing and its aftermath, as well as the wider issue of preserving the memories of a city via its architecture.
Karim Kassar designed the exhibition to echo the design of a traditional Lebanese home; it invites visitors to sit and relax on a divan in a reconstruction of the Lebanese ‘Liwan’ – a small salon within a larger entrance hall of a Lebanese home.
“I wanted to experiment with the idea that people should be able to sit comfortably and properly in a museum, rather than having to stand or sit on uncomfortable chairs,” said Karim Kassar. “I wanted to offer a comfortable and beautiful place to take in the exhibition.”
Karim Kassar is known for her architecture work in Beirut, where she has worked on both new buildings and the conservation of historic buildings, including the reconstruction of the city’s traditional Souks at the heart of old Beirut.
“This is an emotional project for me,” said Karim Kassar. “I love Beirut. It’s such a creative city. I have an office there, and a home there, not far from the port. Both were damaged, and I know people who died in the explosion. I want people to be aware of what happened, and of how people are still suffering; I wanted to elicit an emotional response in visitors.
“People are fascinated; they respond to the emotion of the video and the facade. It makes me happy to see visitors sitting and staying for an hour or more.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 3
Profile: Bernard Donoghue
When COVID-19 hit, ALVA’s CEO stepped up. He talks us through lobbying government, getting results and supporting the sector through incredibly tough times
Museums: Long walk for freedom
As architects BIG unveil their designs for the National Juneteenth Museum in Texas, partner Douglass Alligood tells us why it’s one of the most important projects of his career
Theme Parks: Lotte World – on a roll
More than 30 years on from the opening of the highly successful Lotte World theme park in Seoul, we take a look at its new sister park
Show review: IAAPA Expo Europe
The industry came together in London to meet, celebrate and plan. We round up some of the show’s highlights
Museums: Going global
Taking a museum or attraction’s retail offer international can have profound and sometimes surprising results, says retail design expert Callum Lumsden
Immersive experience: Stranger & Stranger
Netflix has partnered with live entertainment discovery platform Fever to launch a Stranger Things immersive experience, and it’s proving popular
Research: Time to celebrate
Are celebration and special events worth the investment for attractions? Kathleen LeClair looks at the numbers
Theme Parks: Creating the magic
Disney Imagineers have shared some of the secrets that went into creating the long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction at EPCOT
Annabel Karim Kassar designed the exhibition / PHOTO: Mark O’Flaherty
French-Lebanese architect Annabel Karim Kassar is giving a talk at the V&A London about her exhibition The Lebanese House: Saving a Home, Saving a City that explores the aftermath of the catastrophic 2020 Beirut port explosion.
The exhibition, which opened in June at the V&A South Kensington, features a 5m-high recreation of the facade of a traditional Lebanese home that was built in the museum by Beruti craftsmen using sandstone shipped from the Lebanon. It also features a series of emotional and thought-provoking specially commissioned films that explore the social and emotional impact of the explosion, which killed more than 200 people, injured more than 7,000 and destroyed part of Lebanon’s cultural heritage.
“This exhibition is special to me,” Karim Kassar told Attractions Management, speaking at the V&A. “An architecture installation is very different to an architecture project, when you’re working for a client. Architecture installations are very personal, and allow me to express my ideas and convey my message, which is social, emotional and artistic.”
The aim of the exhibition, said Karim Kassar, was to provide a space for visitors to sit and reflect on the impact of the bombing and its aftermath, as well as the wider issue of preserving the memories of a city via its architecture.
Karim Kassar designed the exhibition to echo the design of a traditional Lebanese home; it invites visitors to sit and relax on a divan in a reconstruction of the Lebanese ‘Liwan’ – a small salon within a larger entrance hall of a Lebanese home.
“I wanted to experiment with the idea that people should be able to sit comfortably and properly in a museum, rather than having to stand or sit on uncomfortable chairs,” said Karim Kassar. “I wanted to offer a comfortable and beautiful place to take in the exhibition.”
Karim Kassar is known for her architecture work in Beirut, where she has worked on both new buildings and the conservation of historic buildings, including the reconstruction of the city’s traditional Souks at the heart of old Beirut.
“This is an emotional project for me,” said Karim Kassar. “I love Beirut. It’s such a creative city. I have an office there, and a home there, not far from the port. Both were damaged, and I know people who died in the explosion. I want people to be aware of what happened, and of how people are still suffering; I wanted to elicit an emotional response in visitors.
“People are fascinated; they respond to the emotion of the video and the facade. It makes me happy to see visitors sitting and staying for an hour or more.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 3
Profile: Bernard Donoghue
When COVID-19 hit, ALVA’s CEO stepped up. He talks us through lobbying government, getting results and supporting the sector through incredibly tough times
Museums: Long walk for freedom
As architects BIG unveil their designs for the National Juneteenth Museum in Texas, partner Douglass Alligood tells us why it’s one of the most important projects of his career
Theme Parks: Lotte World – on a roll
More than 30 years on from the opening of the highly successful Lotte World theme park in Seoul, we take a look at its new sister park
Show review: IAAPA Expo Europe
The industry came together in London to meet, celebrate and plan. We round up some of the show’s highlights
Museums: Going global
Taking a museum or attraction’s retail offer international can have profound and sometimes surprising results, says retail design expert Callum Lumsden
Immersive experience: Stranger & Stranger
Netflix has partnered with live entertainment discovery platform Fever to launch a Stranger Things immersive experience, and it’s proving popular
Research: Time to celebrate
Are celebration and special events worth the investment for attractions? Kathleen LeClair looks at the numbers
Theme Parks: Creating the magic
Disney Imagineers have shared some of the secrets that went into creating the long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction at EPCOT
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
