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Annabel Karim Kassar designed the exhibition / PHOTO: Mark O’Flaherty
French-Lebanese architect Annabel Karim Kassar is giving a talk at the V&A London about her exhibition The Lebanese House: Saving a Home, Saving a City that explores the aftermath of the catastrophic 2020 Beirut port explosion.
The exhibition, which opened in June at the V&A South Kensington, features a 5m-high recreation of the facade of a traditional Lebanese home that was built in the museum by Beruti craftsmen using sandstone shipped from the Lebanon. It also features a series of emotional and thought-provoking specially commissioned films that explore the social and emotional impact of the explosion, which killed more than 200 people, injured more than 7,000 and destroyed part of Lebanon’s cultural heritage.
“This exhibition is special to me,” Karim Kassar told Attractions Management, speaking at the V&A. “An architecture installation is very different to an architecture project, when you’re working for a client. Architecture installations are very personal, and allow me to express my ideas and convey my message, which is social, emotional and artistic.”
The aim of the exhibition, said Karim Kassar, was to provide a space for visitors to sit and reflect on the impact of the bombing and its aftermath, as well as the wider issue of preserving the memories of a city via its architecture.
Karim Kassar designed the exhibition to echo the design of a traditional Lebanese home; it invites visitors to sit and relax on a divan in a reconstruction of the Lebanese ‘Liwan’ – a small salon within a larger entrance hall of a Lebanese home.
“I wanted to experiment with the idea that people should be able to sit comfortably and properly in a museum, rather than having to stand or sit on uncomfortable chairs,” said Karim Kassar. “I wanted to offer a comfortable and beautiful place to take in the exhibition.”
Karim Kassar is known for her architecture work in Beirut, where she has worked on both new buildings and the conservation of historic buildings, including the reconstruction of the city’s traditional Souks at the heart of old Beirut.
“This is an emotional project for me,” said Karim Kassar. “I love Beirut. It’s such a creative city. I have an office there, and a home there, not far from the port. Both were damaged, and I know people who died in the explosion. I want people to be aware of what happened, and of how people are still suffering; I wanted to elicit an emotional response in visitors.
“People are fascinated; they respond to the emotion of the video and the facade. It makes me happy to see visitors sitting and staying for an hour or more.”
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Show review: IAAPA Expo Europe
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Museums: Going global
Taking a museum or attraction’s retail offer international can have profound and sometimes surprising results, says retail design expert Callum Lumsden
Immersive experience: Stranger & Stranger
Netflix has partnered with live entertainment discovery platform Fever to launch a Stranger Things immersive experience, and it’s proving popular
Research: Time to celebrate
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Theme Parks: Creating the magic
Disney Imagineers have shared some of the secrets that went into creating the long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction at EPCOT
Annabel Karim Kassar designed the exhibition / PHOTO: Mark O’Flaherty
French-Lebanese architect Annabel Karim Kassar is giving a talk at the V&A London about her exhibition The Lebanese House: Saving a Home, Saving a City that explores the aftermath of the catastrophic 2020 Beirut port explosion.
The exhibition, which opened in June at the V&A South Kensington, features a 5m-high recreation of the facade of a traditional Lebanese home that was built in the museum by Beruti craftsmen using sandstone shipped from the Lebanon. It also features a series of emotional and thought-provoking specially commissioned films that explore the social and emotional impact of the explosion, which killed more than 200 people, injured more than 7,000 and destroyed part of Lebanon’s cultural heritage.
“This exhibition is special to me,” Karim Kassar told Attractions Management, speaking at the V&A. “An architecture installation is very different to an architecture project, when you’re working for a client. Architecture installations are very personal, and allow me to express my ideas and convey my message, which is social, emotional and artistic.”
The aim of the exhibition, said Karim Kassar, was to provide a space for visitors to sit and reflect on the impact of the bombing and its aftermath, as well as the wider issue of preserving the memories of a city via its architecture.
Karim Kassar designed the exhibition to echo the design of a traditional Lebanese home; it invites visitors to sit and relax on a divan in a reconstruction of the Lebanese ‘Liwan’ – a small salon within a larger entrance hall of a Lebanese home.
“I wanted to experiment with the idea that people should be able to sit comfortably and properly in a museum, rather than having to stand or sit on uncomfortable chairs,” said Karim Kassar. “I wanted to offer a comfortable and beautiful place to take in the exhibition.”
Karim Kassar is known for her architecture work in Beirut, where she has worked on both new buildings and the conservation of historic buildings, including the reconstruction of the city’s traditional Souks at the heart of old Beirut.
“This is an emotional project for me,” said Karim Kassar. “I love Beirut. It’s such a creative city. I have an office there, and a home there, not far from the port. Both were damaged, and I know people who died in the explosion. I want people to be aware of what happened, and of how people are still suffering; I wanted to elicit an emotional response in visitors.
“People are fascinated; they respond to the emotion of the video and the facade. It makes me happy to see visitors sitting and staying for an hour or more.”
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Profile: Bernard Donoghue
When COVID-19 hit, ALVA’s CEO stepped up. He talks us through lobbying government, getting results and supporting the sector through incredibly tough times
Museums: Long walk for freedom
As architects BIG unveil their designs for the National Juneteenth Museum in Texas, partner Douglass Alligood tells us why it’s one of the most important projects of his career
Theme Parks: Lotte World – on a roll
More than 30 years on from the opening of the highly successful Lotte World theme park in Seoul, we take a look at its new sister park
Show review: IAAPA Expo Europe
The industry came together in London to meet, celebrate and plan. We round up some of the show’s highlights
Museums: Going global
Taking a museum or attraction’s retail offer international can have profound and sometimes surprising results, says retail design expert Callum Lumsden
Immersive experience: Stranger & Stranger
Netflix has partnered with live entertainment discovery platform Fever to launch a Stranger Things immersive experience, and it’s proving popular
Research: Time to celebrate
Are celebration and special events worth the investment for attractions? Kathleen LeClair looks at the numbers
Theme Parks: Creating the magic
Disney Imagineers have shared some of the secrets that went into creating the long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction at EPCOT
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
Premium London health club, KX Chelsea, will imminently unveil its most significant
redevelopment since its launch in 2002 to create an integrated wellness model combining
training, recovery and relaxation.
