Architect Jean Nouvel has restarted work on The Landmark, a large mixed-use development in central Beirut, Lebanon.
The project features a 42-storey tower containing a hotel and apartments a horizontal commercial and leisure block with a raised pedestrian street.
Nouvel won the project through an international competition in 2004 but the project was later put on hold. Nouvel has now revised his designs.
More information on the project’s website.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Absolutely beautiful!
October 18th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
i wish it were a bit more like the band beirut
October 18th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
It seems that it is going to be great! Honestly it´s a great turn back to opacity or opacity levels. I’m getting pretty tired of glass phalos in the middle east.
October 19th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
well, i’m not so aware of the latest Nouvel’s projects, but considering his last phalo, this one seems to be the best for me… the tower looks too high (some shots), comparing to the other building, but it doesn’t have any worse effect on that one… really nice…
October 19th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
is it just me, or are those interior renderings awful?
October 19th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
The articulation on this project is superb! Glad to see someone counter the bland neomodernism so commonly expressed in highrise buildings.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Doesn’t it remind you of a student project…
October 30th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Dont understand this…why make think easy?
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:17 am
jean is just amazing! how can he possibly abolish the desires? the desire to end up to something beautiful. he does it effortlessly. he executes things without thinking of what it would end up. there should be a nouvel in all of us, not bothering about ‘avant-garde’
November 7th, 2007 at 5:08 am
Hi. Do you think you could help me source some hi-res images of this project?
January 4th, 2008 at 4:31 am
This supurb articulation surpasses any highrise I have seen in the entire world. This one building captures the scars of war-time beirut as well as portraying layers of contradiction and inconsistancy that best portrays the diverse beirut.
February 4th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Its a good project for Beirut.
March 3rd, 2008 at 7:10 pm
speechless… too bad this is only conceptual.
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:07 am
to khodges2:
this is not conceptual, the tower is on hold at the moment because of the sit in in the downtown area of Beirut. It has been approved and construction was due to start a while ago. The site is enclosed and renders are around the block. Sadly, the on going strikes in downtown Beirut are retarding many beautiful projects such as this one… Hope the political problems get solved soon.
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
C’est moche comme tout… rien à voir avec les autres batiments de beyrouth….
Il faut arrêter ce projet
September 30th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
It is certainly an outlandish project so it will be very bizarre to be built in Beirut such a concept that plays alone among a traditional urban context.
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:08 pm
This project is a mastodonte!! it has nothing to do with beirut except for the scars on the building!! it denies the scale of Beirut’s urban fabric and perpetuates the orientalist myth! It is such an orientalizing project! and aesthetically hideous! It is one more of Solidere’s ugly decisions that have butchered the city! It goes against all refinement. it is an ugly guant, massive and bulky…
January 14th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Thanks P i was reading the previous comments.. Obviously none of these guyz who commented seem to have any basic knowledge of the rich historical background that Beirut Celebrates. And now with the Reconstrcution process of Beirut Central District, its image that was once projected will be destroyed by architects who are not familiar with its typology and urban context and complexity. This project is a disaster and its scale is not even close to the proportions of the city. I think our friend Jean’s only purpose is to advertise himself by creating an ICON or a bilbao effect in Beirut, but if it was realized, history will be the judge of him and Solidere’s works
February 12th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
We don’t need like this kind of buildings in down town of Beirut, it is enough what they have already done with this place with all these buildings, that they finishing any space left in this area.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:00 am
jean is just amazing! how can he possibly abolish the desires? the desire to end up to something beautiful. he does it effortlessly. he executes things without thinking of what it would end up. there should be a nouvel in all of us, not bothering about ‘avant-garde’
August 21st, 2009 at 9:30 pm
I agree with Mr Hobeika, i am an architect graduated from school of architecture in Paris, and Jean Nouvel was one of our professor… To add on top of that architecture is not only an idea it is a place where people visit or live it is a landmark for them… I think Jean Nouvel had failed in architecture concept for human …
# Rony Hobeika Says:
January 14th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Thanks P i was reading the previous comments.. Obviously none of these guyz who commented seem to have any basic knowledge of the rich historical background that Beirut Celebrates. And now with the Reconstrcution process of Beirut Central District, its image that was once projected will be destroyed by architects who are not familiar with its typology and urban context and complexity. This project is a disaster and its scale is not even close to the proportions of the city. I think our friend Jean’s only purpose is to advertise himself by creating an ICON or a bilbao effect in Beirut, but if it was realized, history will be the judge of him and Solidere’s works
September 4th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
i didnt have the chance to read all the comments, but the bottom line here is that outcome of this “Landmark” will be enormous in effect on lebanon, and in every different aspect possible.
what we have here is a true landmark, that in a way puts lebanon back on track as an iconic art destination in the region. (ofcourse not to be compared with dubai). this project has never been precedented in lebanon, talking abt the volume of the project as in: mass area used, artisitic value and the potential inspiration for locals, amount of money invested. this project might be spark that grabs other international known architects to participate in other potential projects in the future.
i believe the project by itself is a piece of art, original, has a true character and i believe thats we really need it at the time. we have reached a point were almost every “art project” is being “copy paste” and then imposed on us as a unique work of art.
i dont think that the argument that this project has nothing to do with beirut is valid. wht is beirut? almost 5000 yrs of history, i guess almost any project can almost symbolizes beirut in a way!
i guess it will have a very nice impact when it stands next to the renovated traditional buildings of D.T. beirut.
October 28th, 2009 at 11:23 am
please ban this project…its absolutely not the image of the BCD!!!
November 24th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
its does not provide opportunities for open public gathering and space as a continuity from the pedestrian downtown area of beirut
December 6th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
there is beautiful complex in the windows but it over but the tower is waw