MYU Restaurant / Paul Kaloustian

Aug 2010

Uploaded by Nico Saieh — Filed under: Hotels and Restaurants ,Refurbishment ,Selected , Beirut, Lebanon, Paul Kaloustian

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Architects: Paul Kaloustian
Location: Gemayze, Beirut, Lebanon
Client: Joe Mourani
Project Area: 140 sqm
Photographs: Courtesy of Paul Kaloustian

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Located in the iconic night life district of Beirut, the MYU bar/restaurant inhabits an old small liquor factory. The design concept is based on creating 2 separate spaces of bar and restaurant defined by 2 vaults different in scale. These vaults which form a room within a room are made of stretch black fabric that is translucent. The original space is kept as found with graffiti and traces on walls and ceiling. The indirect cold cathodes lighting is dimmable thus allowing the space within the vaults to become darker and more defined once the light is dimmed. The restaurant and the bar communicate by a large “window” allowing people to connect visually.

: © Courtesy of Paul Kaloustian

: © Courtesy of Paul Kaloustian

: © Courtesy of Paul Kaloustian

: © Courtesy of Paul Kaloustian

: © Courtesy of Paul Kaloustian

: © Courtesy of Paul Kaloustian

: © Courtesy of Paul Kaloustian

: © Courtesy of Paul Kaloustian

: floor plan

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* Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.

Cite:
Saieh , Nico . "MYU Restaurant / Paul Kaloustian" 11 Aug 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 09 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/72559>

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Liam says:

seems to be a riff on the interior of the bar at Bernard Khoury’s design of la Centrale

# August 11, 2010 at 15:02

Tang Wu says:

If there are any similarities with the Centrale, then its in the cramped space. As cool as the Centrale seems from the design standpoint (the elevator/open roof/dramatic dining-hall underneath the silo) once a full capacity of the place is reached, it is impossible to move around. I experienced the same situation in MYU. Once you are in, you can’t get out without asking everyone else at the bar to exit the place. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy squeezing by and brushing up against gorgeous Lebanese as much as anyone, but…is that really necessary? In the case of Centrale, the situation is defined by the geometry of the silo, but in MYU…if anything could have been learned from the previous mistakes it is precisely the width of the space next to the bar counter.
Other than that, I did like the place. The low cost set-design approach certainly makes sense. With programs that become obsolete as fast as they become popular, it only makes sense to keep the investment as minimal as possible. This particular project, really appears to have made the most out of a rather limited budget.

# August 12, 2010 at 12:34

Kai says: