We Design Beirut 2025, a collective meditation on Lebanese creativity
From October 22 to 26, Beirut hosts the second edition of the international event, which comes alive with eight exhibitions, a public program, and guided tours that celebrate the city’s cultural heritage and revival, in dialogue with tradition and contemporary life.
Empowerment, preservation, and sustainability are once again the three pillars on which the second edition of We Design Beirut will be built, which shines a spotlight on the Lebanese capital from October 22 to 26, 2025. Founded by Mariana Wehbe of Mariana Wehbe Public Relations, in partnership with industrial designer Samer AlAmeen, the event aims to explore themes of heritage, cultural revival, and continuity through a rich program of exhibitions, installations, roundtables, and workshops.
A collective meditation that will pay tribute to and preserve the historical significance of monuments, crafts, heritage sites, and local musical and artistic traditions. It offers five days to connect with and experience the design and creativity of the region, beginning with the opening night, a tribute to Lebanon’s greatest Oud maker, Nazih Al Ghadban, in collaboration with the Founder and Music Director of the National Arab Orchestra, Michael Ibrahim.
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Supporting these concepts will be eight exhibitions and seven key locations to explore. Specifically, at the Abroyan Factory, an abandoned textile factory spanning 14,000 square meters, visitors will find the exhibitions Threads of Life, Métiers d’Art and Skin Of A City.
The first unfolds as a multisensory journey into the world of craftsmanship. The focus is not on the finished product but on the act of making, the discovery of techniques, and the details that make design exceptional. From crochet to embroidery al nawl, to natural materials such as rattan and banana fiber, the exhibition pays homage to the diversity and depth of local artisanal knowledge and tradition.
As the name suggests, Métiers d’Art explores traditional crafts through an innovative lens: the exhibition is conceived as a living laboratory in which each artisan is paired with a specialized designer, creating a dialogue that pushes the limits of technique and material use, bridging heritage and contemporary reinvention.
At the unfinished Burj El Murr skyscraper, Design ‘In’ Conflict, curated by Archifeed founders Teymour Khoury and Yasmina Mahmoud, in collaboration with Tarek Mahmoud and Youssef Bassil, and with the support of Solidere, will be presented. The protagonists are students from nine Lebanese universities. Through their projects, they critically confront conflict as an ongoing condition embedded in landscapes and daily experiences. Participating universities include: American University of Beirut (AUB); Lebanese American University (LAU); Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA); Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK); Notre Dame University (NDU); American University of Science and Technology (AUST); Saint Joseph University (USJ); Lebanese University; and Phoenicia University.
At Villa Audi, a rare example of Beirut architecture blending Ottoman influences with European refinement, Totems of the Present and the Absent, curated by Gregory Gatserelia, pays tribute to the iconic SMO Gallery, founded by the same curator and recognized for supporting and promoting Lebanon’s top design talents.
Of Water and Stone, at Beirut’s historic Roman Baths, is a site-specific exhibition curated by Nour Osseiran and produced and sponsored by Stones by Rania Malli, with support from Solidere. Designers are invited to actively engage with the ancient baths, creating interventions inspired by the relationship between water and marble in all its forms: raw, polished, fragmented, or powdered. The goal is to propose contemporary projects that honor the past while shaping new narratives.
At Immeuble de l’Union, a modernist landmark in Sanayeh under meticulous restoration since 2016 by Karim Nader Studio (KNS), the retrospective Union, A Journey Through Architecture and Light by Karim Nader x Atelier33 will be hosted. The exhibition explores the site’s layered history and its renewed role in the city’s cultural landscape.
In the same location, visitors can also explore Rising with Purpose, dedicated to emerging designers under 30 and led by Karel Kargodorian, Marc-Antoine Frahi, and Miriam Abi Tarabay. The concept is to present a new perspective on Lebanese design: rooted in context, intentionally made, and relevance-driven. As the curators explain: “The country’s instability pushes many Lebanese creatives to leave in search of opportunities, but what if we could create some of those opportunities ourselves, here, from within?”. The exhibition stands as a collective declaration of the new generation, inviting projects that go beyond aesthetics or trends and respond to the real and tangible needs of people, society, and the territory.
Alongside the exhibitions and events, a public program will include a bus tour of Beirut’s modern architecture landmarks, curated and guided by architect and professor Dr. Omar Harb, founder of Modern Architecture From Lebanon, an online platform showcasing how Lebanese architects contributed to modern architecture.
Visitors can also join excursions to the International Fair in the Lebanese city of Tripoli – the largest Oscar Niemeyer project outside Brazil – and the Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation. Located in the mountains of Lebanon, this foundation celebrates the legacy of abstract art pioneer Saloua Raouda Choucair. Designed by the artist herself, the space offers an intimate look into her universe, hosting her modular sculptures and personal archives.
We Design Beirut remains one of the region’s most compelling events and, in its second edition, expands its vision to explore Lebanon’s rich landscape of culture, craftsmanship, architecture, and design, in a perfect blend of innovation and tradition.
