LEBANON

June 2009

nthe heart of Beirut is the dis-tinctive shell of what was once acomplex called the “City Cen-ter,” also affectionately knownas the “Egg.”The Egg, with its nosechopped offand deep scars on itsonce smooth concrete exterior skin,has passed through dramaticchanges in its 50 years of existence.Ever since Solidere in 2005 sold theland to Abu Dhabi InvestmentHouse (ADIH) as part of the BeirutGate project, the Egg has been con-stantly threatened with demolition.

Solidere sold the land withoutany legal protection or financial in-centive to save the Egg, meaning itsdestruction is almost inevitable. Fornow, the July 2006 war stopped itsimminent demolition and the finan-cial crisis delayed the bulldozers fur-ther. However, the end appears to benear for one of the last iconic, mod-ernist architectural structures in thecenter of Beirut that also carrieswith it the physical manifestationsof the civil war years.The Egg was built between 1965and 1968 as a multi-use shoppingcenter,movie theater and officebuilding. The developers, Samadiand Salha, had ambitious plans forthis development and wanted tomake it the biggest multi-use centerin the Middle East. The egg-shapedcinema was designed to hold 1,000seats and is 24 meters wide and 11meters high. It was to be accompa-nied by two towers, of which onlyone was built and has since been de-stroyed. George Arbid, professor of architecture at the American Uni-versity of Beirut (AUB), explainedthat the distinctive shape of the Eggcame about through unintendedconsequences.“The building code at this timewas very strict about building movietheaters for structural safety,” Arbidsaid. “So the architect, Joseph-Philippe Karam, convinced the au-thorities that the law did not forbidthe use of the space below the movietheater, so he created a retail spaceunderneath. Once the movie theaterwas raised and visible, he was forcedto give it a distinguished shape,hence the concrete egg shell.”

Beirut in an eggshell

Real estate

Bulldozers of development loom for one the city’s last iconic buildings

The shell of the City Center complex in downtown Beirut, dubbed the ‘Egg’

June 2009

role with the war and the fascina-tion that it creates.”Residents of Lebanon confirmthis enchantment with the Egg andthe history it represents in its currentappearance.Marie-Louise Ramy, who grewup during Lebanon’s civil war, ex-plained the fascination.“When we came down from themountains to Beirut, the whole of Beirut used to look like the Egg doesnow,” she said. “So the structureacts as a reminder.”Arbid disagreed with the idea putforth by Khoury that the Egg doesnot have any architectural value.“It is one of the rare free-formstructures in the city [and] it was adifficult task to execute such a form.It is also important because it is oneof the rare cinema halls raised abovea freed ground floor,” he said.While the architectural impor-tance of the building is contested,the debate over whether to demolishthe structure or not has certainly

The architect and the egg

Joseph-Philippe Karam was oneof Lebanon’s most distinguishedmodernist architects who trained inLebanon and designed buildingsthroughout the region.“The Beirut City Center was oneof several examples of his innovativecontributions to architecture,” said Joseph-Philippe Karam’s son, SamiKaram. “The surviving cinema [orEgg] has become an icon of avant-garde Lebanese modernism.”Many of Karam’s buildings weredestroyed in the civil war and thefew that remain are being demol-ished to make way for high-rise de-velopments, most notably the Build-ing Gondole, in Rouche, that wasdemolished in 2004.The architectural importance of the Egg is contested despite manytop-notch international architectsadmiring the structure.“Architecturally speaking theEgg does not have architectural val-ue,” said architect Bernard Khoury.“There are many more importantbuildings in Beirut that are, architec-turally speaking, more important.The attraction [to the Egg] is the cu-riosity of the building in terms of itsstirred public interest. Dania Bdier, astudent at AUB, started a Facebookgroup to ‘Save the Egg’ at the begin-ning of 2009.“Within four days 3,000 peoplehad joined up to the group,” she said.The group now has more than5,000 members and had to move to‘Save the Egg Cause’ due to havingso many members in the group.Much of the debate of the groupdoes not center on the architecturalintricacies of the building, but in-stead on the role the Egg plays inLebanese identity.

The battle for identity

For many the Egg is becoming acenterpiece in the battle for the iden-tity, not just of the downtown area,but the whole of Lebanon. Bdierwas very clear about her reason forstarting up the Facebook group.“We are starting to look so muchlike Dubai and we are not, we arelike the Egg. The Egg is very impor-tant in Lebanese history,” she said.

“WE ARE STARTING TO LOOK SO MUCH LIKE DUBAI ANDWE ARE NOT, WE ARE LIKE THE EGG. THE EGG IS VERYIMPORTANT IN LEBANESE HISTORY”

Bernard Khoury’s proposed design for the Egg

June 2009

LEBANON

Many of those on the Facebookgroup who support preserving theEgg do so because they want to stopwhat they call the ‘Dubai-ification’of Lebanon. This allegation is par-ticularly sensitive given that the landwhere the Egg is located is nowowned by the ADIH and the deci-sion as to whether the Egg stays orgoes rests not in Lebanon but in AbuDhabi. This point has not been loston those who argue for preservingthe Egg. As Jack Samaha, on theFacebook group proclaimed, “Ouridentity and culture as Lebanese isnot for sale [to] Gulf millionaires.”Not all agree with this notionthat the destruction of the Egg willmake Lebanon more like the Gulf,and many posts support the demoli-tion of the Egg.“I saw the Beirut Gate projectand I have to say it's very nice,”wrote Patrick Saab on the Facebookgroup. “The Egg is a mess, and itcan be replaced or rebuilt anywhereelse. Put culture aside, think modern

The Egg, post-war The original architectural plans for the City Center