A Khalil Khoury Showcase

To mark the opening of the Khalil Khoury showcase, a performative intervention by Bernard Khoury will take place on Wednesday 12 December, starting 18:30.

House of Today, the internationally recognized platform for design in Lebanon, and Banque Libano-Francaise, present A Khalil Khoury Showcase, featuring a performance by Bernard Khoury.

This performance and installation by Bernard Khoury recounts the fabulous story of an impossible modernity. Not a retrospective, nor an objective account of the modern history of our territory, this is Bernard’s story of his father and architect of the modern movement, Khalil Khoury, and his passion for aeronautic engineering, painting, hunting, politics, industrial design, architecture, and above all, the female figure. The performance will take place at the Sursock Museum auditorium on 12 December 2018 at 18:30, and the installation will remain on display until 28 December 2018.

The showcase is part of the 2018 House of Today Design Biennale, "ELEVATE, the Quest for Heightened Senses," which takes place from 12 December to 28 December 2018 at various locations in Beirut. Described as a modernist and brutalist, Khalil Khoury was one of the first artisans of exposed concrete, leading the Modern Movement in Lebanon. He cofounded, along with his brother Georges, an architecture and industrial design studio. Together, they produced works that have left their mark on the country's and the region’s architectural landscape.

Khalil Khoury (1929-2008) practiced architecture with his brother Georges Khoury. In addition to the Interdesign Building, they designed the municipal stadium of Jounieh (1963), the Collège des Frères Mont-La-Salle (1970, with Grégoire Sérof and Raoul Verney), the Galerie Schèmes in Beirut and the Manar Seaside Resort at Maameltein (1982), among others. From 1977, Khalil Khoury was a member of the commissions for the development plan for the reconstruction of the center of Beirut. From 1959 to 1984, he taught at the American University in Beirut; from 1972 to 1991 he was the architects’ representative in the Lebanese Order of Architects and Engineers.

Bernard Khoury studied architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and received an M.A. in Architectural Studies from Harvard University. He has lectured and exhibited his work in prestigious academic institutions in Europe and the U.S., including a solo show of his work given by the International Forum for Contemporary Architecture at the Aedes gallery in Berlin (2003) and numerous group shows including YOU prison at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin (2008) and Spazio at the opening show of the MAXXI museum in Rome (2010). Over the past fifteen years, his office has developed an international reputation and a significant diverse portfolio of projects both locally and abroad.

House of Today, a non-profit organization, is recognized internationally as a reference for design in Lebanon. As part of the series of design-led initiatives, House of Today has held three editions of the globally reported Design Biennale, with a fourth edition entitled: "ELEVATE, the Quest for Heightened Senses," taking place from 12 December 12th to 28 December 2018 in Beirut. The success of the curated exhibitions has allowed the continuation of House of Today’s main purpose, which is to fund scholarships for promising young Lebanese designers.