Beirut Express

This post was previously published on Sketchbook magazine's blog on 17 May 2010. For the original post, please click here.

Memories flood back at my old campus’ empty classroom at the American University of Beirut.

The Charles W. Halston Students Centre at AUB, designed as a smoke-free area in the campus, is practically unheard of in all of Beirut - much like banning smoking in a bar in Paris.

One of the best baklawa shops down the corniche area of ROUCHE, Beirut.

Military presence around all corners of Lebanon is second nature.

DE PRAGUE is one of the fairly new bohemian haunts in Hamra frequented by AUB students and faculty, hosting independent film nights and gigs.

Lebanon has by far the largest proportion of Christians of any Arab country with approximately 40% Christians and 59% Muslims.

Summer weddings happen by the dozen everyday - while a Christian wedding was about to begin, two steps down, a Muslim bride was just walking out of her own.

SAIFI VILLAGE, an artsy commercial residential area in central Beirut featuring modern French (Lebanon previously being a French colony) and Spanish architecture, hosts the boutiques of product designer NADA DEBS and other local designers and artists’ galleries.

The juxtaposition of the old and new that is quintessentially Beirut can best be seen in its architecture. Several old buildings in Beirut, including these in the popular pubbing and lounging area of Gemayzeh, are still covered in bullet holes from the war.

Taking parts and making fake duplicates is a popular ‘pastime’ in the outskirts of Beirut. You can get yourself a good deal on certain car parts..

Practically anything and everything in Beirut can be delivered to your doorstep. Here’s a place that delivers Sheesha or ‘Argileh’, including a change of coal, for less than $5.00.

One of the most famous sandwich shops in the American University of Beirut’s neighborhood of Hamra, ABOU AFIF SANDWICHES, has become a favourite stop for all students and alumni. Call it serendipity but I managed to bump into the older brother of architect ZAHA HADID (Hadid is a fellow AUB alumni) while waiting for my order.

Casa Bashmi / Bahrain Fort

Addam's Family much?:

For all the non-Bahraini Bedouin living in tent believers: my old school camel saddleback..

You can light my fort:

But don't poop on my desert parade..

Sustainable pay off: AUB

I visited my old college campus, American University of Beirut (AUB), in June this year and took a few quick shots of the Charles W. Hostler Students Center. Though the new center was opened to the public in May 2008, it was one of the shortlisted sites for the AGA KHAN AWARDS for ARCHITECTURE 2010, boasting of a simple contemporary, environment-friendly design that complements its surroundings. Though it did not win at the AKAA 2010, whose winners were announced on 24 November, it was voted in AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects of 2009.

Here's some more information on the project:

Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and Lebanese mountains, the Charles W. Hostler Students Center was designed by Boston-based architectural firm Machado and Silvetti Associates as part of the Olayan Business School of the American University of Beirut.

The architects refer to their design as "based on the belief that the best surfaces for socializing and learning are to be found at the intersection of architecture, climate and behavior. The project is as much about human behavior, collegiate life, and even politics, as it is about questions of architectural form.."

Entirely smoke-free (very impressive for any Lebanese premises, kind of like trying to turn any part of Paris smoke-free), the center possesses an environment-friendly design that minimizes heat and cooling needs by recycling water, and employing energy-efficient lighting. Solar panels installed at the site heat the indoor pool and a green plant cover filled with landscaped vegetation maintains the coolness of the entire area during hot summer days.