THE STUDIO

Representative of the current Lebanese architectural avant-garde, Karim Nader Studio has addresses and representatives in Paris, Beirut and Dubai. The current portfolio includes hotels, office towers, houses and commercial spaces in Lebanon, France, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ivory Coast. The main offices are located in Saifi, in the heart of the Beiruti art scene. The studio collaborates with architects, engineers and contractors of affiliated firms to produce work of high quality and craft. From office towers, hotels, residential developments, resorts, to villas or interior design projects, passing by furniture or object design, all projects are given the same attention and passion. The quality of the design and its execution is the result of more than 25 years of experience where personal ties were built with designers, contractors, suppliers, craftspeople and fabricators.

THE FOUNDER

Photograph by Marwan Harmouche.

Karim Nader is an architect whose work is silent, but never still. Contextually and textually engaged, he practices design fervently and conscientiously, believing that architecture moves through nature as much as nature moves through architecture.

Nader graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture with distinction from the American University of Beirut in 1999. He was the first prize winner of the Azar Award as well as the third prize winner of the Aareen Award for excellence in architecture. In 2003, he received his Master of Architecture from Rice University (Houston, Texas, USA).

After independent professional beginnings, Nader collaborated with Blankpage from 2008 until 2016 as founding member. In 2011, he was awarded both the SEF 355 office complex in Sin el Fil, commissioned by Express International, and Triade, a multi-use project commissioned by MEDPROPERTIES and M-Tower S.A.L. In 2012, the FFA Real Estate selected the firm amongst 12 others as the laureate of the Ahlam Country Club competition. In 2015, he won the Badalodge competition, a 20,000sqm eco-resort in Bamako, Mali, organized by Omnium Capital. That same year, Amchit Residence was nominated for the Archmarathon Award.

In 2016, Karim Nader decided to return to independent practice and founded Karim Nader Studio, customizing work “from the landscape to the doorknob.” He has built works, most notably Amchit Residence and Villa Kali, which have been widely published in and recognized by the international press. El Khalil Beach House (Villa Kali), delivered in the summer of 2016, is a major 2,000m2, 10-bedroom fully commissioned seaside mansion – from the architectural scale to interior, furniture design and selection. “The four-year effort was truly moving. It involved collaborations with numerous designers and contractors which sincerely inspired the renewal of the possibility of architecture as a total work of art.”

In June 2018, Nader was selected to participate in Art of Dining producing the Nocturne Majlis, a multi-sensorial dining experience that celebrates the essence of oriental space in the dark shades of modern urbanity and contemporary neurosis. Karim Nader Studio is also currently collaborating with Dalal Steel and Megaprefab to produce prefabricated low-cost and ecological experiments. In 2019, the studio has been shortlisted for the NPAK international competition and has been selected as the third prize winner of the Hay Jameel Cinema Competition. In 2020, the studio has been commissioned the ongoing repair of 10 Schools with the Swiss government in the middle of devastated Beirut while the Glass House and the villa On the Rocks reached completion.

Celebrating 20 years of thinking and building architecture, “For a Novel Architecture, ciné-roman 2000-2020,” published in Italy by LetteraVentidue is the first retrospective book produced in the form of a visual and textual narrative. The book was awarded Le Geste d’Or in Paris in December 2021.

As part of the ongoing research and practice on and in the city of Beirut, the studio is working on Immeuble de l’Union, the undergoing awaited renovation of the 1952 masterpiece by Lucien Cavro and Antoun Tabet and the renovation of La Tour by Edgard Sisto built in 1949. In 2023, Karim Nader invited Julien Lanoo to photograph Beirut in analogue black and white. The first installment of this traveling exhibition, entitled Vision from Beirut, combined with a sound installation, attracted more than 2000 visitors during WeDesign Beirut in May 2024.

Nader has taught at the American University of Beirut since 2000, and at the Lebanese American University from 2014 until 2016. From foundation to final project, Nader has conducted numerous design studios and experimental electives, most notably the “Manifesto”, a spiritual and creative workshop that concludes in theatrical expression. “My educational interests include architectural representation and process. I always make sure to emphasize the role of the architectural designer as a passionate, engaged and responsible individual that truly attempts to understand the humbling act of building.” Since 2021, he has been teaching at the Politecnico di Milano the “Landscape Of[f] Limits” Workshop; his 2021 atelier, entitled The Invisible Piacenza was a homage to Calvino and the city as palimpsest. In 2024, he has been appointed teacher in the master program of the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts in Beirut.

FEATURED PROJECTS

ALL PROJECTS
Immeuble de l'Union
Immeuble de l'Union

Renovation as "reprise" for the 1952 masterpiece by Antoun Tabet and Lucien Cavro.

Ongoing.

Zahri Terrace
Zahri Terrace

How to return to Deir el Qamar after three generations, on three terraces.

Ongoing.

Vision from Beirut
Vision from Beirut

Karim Nader invites Julien Lanoo to walk in Beirut. Looking at the present in analogue black and white, they envision a tangible future.

A Tower of Earth
A Tower of Earth

Riyadh is in transition. An office tower in the 2020s builds on the earth and looks towards a hopeful future.

Unbuilt.

The Silent House
The Silent House

Living in the desert brings its own colors, its earthiness and its evanescent mystery.

Ongoing.

Case Study in Bakish
Case Study in Bakish

Once again in greys, a very small house becomes three.

Ongoing.

On the Rocks
On the Rocks

It is on and within shades of natural and man-made greys that he seeks to retreat.

Built.

Banque du Liban CMA
Banque du Liban CMA

Saving the BDL-CMA building from demolition engages issues of modernity and security in the Beiruti urban context.

Built.

Villa Kali
Villa Kali

The Khalils dream of a new house. They call it Villa Kali. Located by a wonderful rock formation in Mounsef, the house interprets the waves, the pebbles and the sky while it invites the horizon. 

Built.

On the Horizon
On the Horizon

Disguised as a temporary renovation, steel rhythm and wood decking compose the music of a client's dream for a week-end seaside retreat. 

Built.

Triade
Triade

On the iconic Tabaris corner site, Triade redefines the Beiruti mixed-used tower typology by representing its multi-layers in three distinct and complementary readings. 

Competition. (1st Prize)

BCD Cineplex
BCD Cineplex

A cineplex for Beirut cannot be a mere venue. It has to be a cinematic event in itself, at the image of the city that adopts it. 

Unbuilt.

ONGOING PROJECTS

BUILT PROJECTS

AWARDS

1998 Azar Award, 1999 Areen Award, 2010 SFF 355 Office Complex Competition - First Prize, 2011 Triade Competition - First Prize, 2012 Ahlam Country Club Competition - First Prize, 2012 Gemstones Competition - Shortlisted, 2013 Badaloge Competition - First Prize, 2014 Archmarathon Award - Nomination: Amchit Residence, 2015 Via Mare Competition - Shortlisted, 2017 Salt Lands Competition - Shortlisted, 2019 Hay Jameel Cinema Competition - 3rd Prize, NPAK Competition- Shortlisted, 2020 Around an Acacia Competition- Shortlisted, 2020 Aurora Winery Competition- 2nd Prize, 2021 Le Geste D’or, 2023 Terra 8 Competition- 2nd Prize, 2023 AD100, 2024 AD100, 2025 AD100.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

COLLABORATORS

Ivana Nestorovic, Dominique Shemali, Lea Ramadan, Soumer Al-Kamand, Anthony Barakat, Elee Haddad, Project Management. Dalia Bohsali, Senior Interior Design. Samer Aouad, Alexis Haibe, Architecture. Giulia Cazzaniga, Landscape and Territory.

Past: Roula Akiki Assaf, Mounira El Halabi, George Naba, Sabine Chaaya, Ryam Idriss, Lama Rafeh, Alaa Chaar, Hazar Slim, Reem Obeid, Gaëlle Fahd, Adrian Ebert, Elie Riachi, Bassel Sleem, Alaa Chaar, Nicholas Doghlass, Sarin Vosgerichian, Nadine Abdelsalam, Yasmina Baladi, Issam Raad, Elie Christian Naameh, Charbel abou Chacra, Andrew Georges, Christy Layous, Elias el Hage, Karina el Hage, Nicolas Araman, Iyad abou Ghaida, Sarah Bayeh, Samer Bou Rjeily, Ahmad Yehya, Racha Doughman, Mario Khoury, Karim Nasser, Karen Madi, Jihad Lotfi, Christina Zakhem, Omar Faress Darwishe, Basheer Hejal, Anna Hadati, Tia abou Khalil, Clara Obeid.

 

Beirut

Nassar Building, 5th floor, 169 Arz street, Beirut, Lebanon — T: +961 1 57 06 57, M: +961 3 773 484

 

Paris

5 Elisa Lemmonier street, 75012, Paris France

Dubai

Dubai Silicon Oasis, DSO-FZO-24793, Dubai, United Arab Emirates — M: +971 1 50 660 2177

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Manifesto on Ruins.

CONTACT

[email protected]