Hania Jneid

The Craft House is a project taking place at the iconic Rose House of Beirut. 

The project responds to the threat to traditional crafts posed by new technology and economic downturn.

It looks to investigate the relationship between designing and making, private and public, old and new. 

This project provides a platform for students, designers and artisans working in wood to collaborate while embracing tradition whilst encouraging innovation. The space becomes a workshop to make and a gallery to share. It is a free school of craft that is intended to self-generate income for craftsmen and designers investigating and sharing traditional and innovative wood techniques and skills.

The new function of the building and the essence of the project aims at exploring people's perception of local craft and how this may change over time. The building also provides an opportunity to express this idea.

The strategy towards the existing consists of inserting an atrium that connects the different floor levels through light.

The visually stimulating atrium recalls the arabic "Mousharabiya" consisting of perforated screens that investigate light and visibility.

It is a response to the lack of natural light inside the house as a result of the rising urbanism.

The Rose House investigates the relationship between art and architecture, walls and scars are exposed, breathing, telling the story of a city.

This project aims at :

1. Preserving Lebanese traditional houses by giving them a second life and ensuring their reconnection with the city, 

2. Fostering craftsmanship, a sector that has been suffering in Lebanon and still by ensuring a good connectivity with the design world 

3. Bridging the gap between the world of design and that of craft in the MENA