There is always something new to discover at the V&A and I found this installation particularly moving in its exploration of the importance of architecture to our sense of place.
On 4 August 2020 a badly stored cache of ammonium nitrate chemicals exploded in the ancient port city of Beirut. Over 200 people were killed, a further 7,000 were injured and a staggering 300,000 were left homeless. This was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.
One of the tragedies of the explosion was the destruction of the few Ottoman-Venetian houses still remaining in the city. Many had already been damaged by the country’s civil war and the 2020 blast further jeopardised their future.
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Prompted by the challenge of preserving the ancient city’s cultural and architectural identity ‘The Lebanese House: saving a home; saving a city’ charts architect Annabel Karim Kassar’s personal crusade to restore one of few remaining classic houses left in old Beirut.
The installation’s focal point is a life-sized reconstruction of the façade of Bayt K, a traditional
Lebanese home in the historic quarter of Gemmayzeh, which has been erected in the V&A by Beiruti craftsmen. Kassar uses Bayt K’s reconstruction as a catalyst to examine how Beirut’s architectural past can inspire the restoration and rebuilding of its latest iteration.
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Alongside the installation, documentary films explore the emotional impact of the explosion by interviewing survivors of the blast. I found the plight of these people and their homes incredibly moving as it highlighted just how vulnerable we all are – their way of life disappeared literally in the blink of an eye.
Kassar says, “Following the devastating 2020 explosion, Beirut’s architectural heritage – Phoenician, Classical, Byzantine, Ottoman and Venetian – is in grave peril. We are honoured to be invited by the V&A to draw attention to the potential loss to our collective cultural and design heritage should Beirut’s glorious architecture be allowed to deteriorate any further. We believe that by saving a building, you can save a city.”
The Lebanese House: saving a home; saving a city runs at The V&A until 21 August. This is not a big exhibition, but it gives you a reason to pop into the V&A which is always worth a visit.