The House of Arts and Culture Riad Al Solh

The House of Arts and Culture will be designed by the Italian architect Alberto Catalano, who won the international competition that was held in 2009. The project is expected to kick off in 2015 next to Riad El Solh Square. The construction of the project will cost around $20 million and is funded by the Sultanate of Oman.

The house will provide the visitor the opportunity to listen to a contemporary music concert, attend a fashion show, see a movie, read in the documentation center and work on his/her computer while sipping coffee. 

The House of Arts and Culture is expected to be a place for artistic and cultural production, for the exchange of knowledge between Lebanese and especially the youths. The House will be independent thus providing a space for interaction and social communication between people of different culture and background.

The house’s main objective is to attract a large number of Lebanese on a daily basis and will be able to play a major part in the field of arts, culture and creativity. It will be the first center of its kind in Lebanon and has a responsibility for being a leader in innovation and exploring the future of arts and technology.

The house will be accessible and highly visible. Its architecture and the dynamism of its programs and events would turn it into a magnet for the Lebanese and the Arabs. It will project Beirut in the art community and will become a leading place of the Arab world and reinforce the leading role of Beirut in the fields of art and culture.

The house is a machine, a plant that will continuously produce a diversified offer to cater to many people. It will include an income generating activities as well as a cafeteria and cultural shops which will be located in the premises. It will also include a performance and conference hall, cinemas, exhibition spaces, workshops and training, documentation center and national film library as well as administration and technical rooms.

The building will be environmentally friendly as possible, aiming at using to the almost the natural elements for its energy.  Durability of the construction, its equipments and its functioning will be at the utmost priority thus reducing the maintenance costs and giving the house a physical permanence.