Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation

Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation 

Karim Bekdache Studio

Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Karim Bekdache, Leticia Lopez

AREA
400 M²

YEAR
2024

LOCATION
Ras El Matn, Lebanon

CATEGORY
Cultural Architecture, Gallery

Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi

Text description provided by architect.

Located in Ras-El-Matn, Lebanon, the Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation, named after the pioneering artist in the 20th-century Middle Eastern abstract art scene, serves as a hybrid storage and exhibition space for Choucair’s world-renowned works.

Driving down towards the foundation, a 200-meter-long concrete fence marks the approach to the gates.

Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi

An homage to the artist’s stacking sculptures, the fence is composed of a series of cast concrete modules assembled to form a perimeter that guides visitors toward the entrance.

Walking through the gate down a slabbed concrete staircase, we reach the foundation’s entrance, guarded by a monumental black steel door. Signage etched into the building’s plaster leads the visitor into the main hall.

Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi

The visitor is greeted upon arrival by a scenography, set under a five-meter-high concrete ceiling, presenting more than five hundred artworks including paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and pieces of furniture, showcasing all facets of Choucair’s work.

Custom-designed storage elements participate in the scenography, holding, and showcasing the works. A set of arms articulate outward from the main room, weaving between the plot’s centenarian pine trees.

Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi

At the end of each arm, a floor-to-ceiling glass facade frames views of the surrounding natural landscape, further connecting the foundation to its environment.

Two narrow windows akin to arrow slits are placed to respectively highlight a large sculpture within the pine grove at the back of the building, and another sculpture on a cantilevered balcony at the main facade, looking towards the lower parts of the plot and the surrounding valley.

Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi

The building’s facade is coated in a bush-hammered white cement-based plaster, applied by hand, while the window frames retain a raw concrete finish.

The project melds into the landscape and minimizes the impact on existing geological and natural features.

Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi

The building sits atop concrete columns to avoid heavy excavation works, allowing preserved rocks and oak shrubs to remain visible under the structure. Raising the building also helps to protect it from humidity.

As the roof is the first visible part of the foundation while driving down the road, it was decided to cover it in greenery to integrate it into the landscape.

Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi

While Choucair’s smaller works are stored and exhibited inside the building, the more monumental pieces are on display throughout the surrounding landscape, connected together via a purpose-built path originating from the main building.


Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
© Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi


Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
Mass Plan
Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation
Elevation