We Design Beirut 2025: a collective act of creative rebirth

From 22 to 26 October 2025, Beirut will host the second edition of We Design Beirut, an event conceived by entrepreneur and PR Mariana Wehbe together with designer Samer Alameen, realised in partnership with The Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). Born without institutional structures, the first edition exceeded 10,000 visitors, a result that confirms the strength of a creative community capable of mobilising for the cultural revival of the country. Five days of exhibitions, talks, residencies and workshops transform the city, positioning design as a driver of dialogue and reconstruction. The title itself, with that “We” drawn from English, strongly affirms the idea of a shared act: a community of designers, artisans, students, architects and curators choosing to act together to give new life to a cultural heritage marked by decades of war and transformation. 

We Design Beirut opens with a tribute to Lebanon’s greatest oud maker – the string instrument symbol of traditional Arab music – Nazih Al Ghadban, with a performance that brings together Michael Ibrahim, founder of the National Arab Orchestra, and artist Mirna Mallouhi on the same stage. Anchored in the three pillars of empowerment, preservation and sustainability, We Design Beirut unfolds across five symbolic locations of Lebanese architectural heritage: from the Abroyan Factory to the Roman Baths, from Villa Audi – now home to the Museum of Mosaics – to the modernist Immeuble de l’Union, and finally Burj El Murr, the brutalist tower left unfinished after the civil war and now a symbol of the divided city. Located along the demarcation line between the fronts, it once served as a sniper’s nest and still bears bullet traces on its walls.


Burj El Murr © Dia Mrad

This October, We Design Beirut reinterprets it with Design ‘In’ Conflict, a project curated by Teymour Khoury, Yasmina Abi Mahmoud, Tarek Mahmoud and Youssef Bassil of the Archifeed collective, bringing together students from nine Lebanese universities and inviting them to reflect on how architecture, art and design are deeply intertwined with the material and psychological realities of conflict. Across these locations, a narrative map of eight exhibitions takes shape, including Threads of Life and Métiers d’Art at the Abroyan Factory, dedicated to historical crafts and Lebanese artisanal heritage, and Skin of a City, a visual and photographic journey exploring the body as a form of free expression.

At Villa Audi, Totems of the Present and the Absent, curated by Gregory Gatserelia, pays tribute to SMO Gallery, a platform that played a key role in bringing Lebanese design talents to light. At the Roman Baths, the exhibition Of Water and Stone, curated by Nour Osseiran and produced by Stones by Rania Malli, reinterprets ancient rituals between water, stone and connection, while Immeuble de l’Union, restored by Karim Nader, hosts Union — A Journey of Light in collaboration with Atelier33 and Rising with Purpose, a platform dedicated to under-30 designers Karel Kargodorian, Marc-Antoine Frahi and Miriam Abi Tarabay, who present a vision of design rooted in context and oriented toward the future.


Villa Audi © Walid Rashid

The public programme expands beyond the exhibitions with a bus tour dedicated to modern architecture, crossing 49 key buildings in the city guided by Dr. Omar Harb, founder of the digital archive Modern Architecture From Lebanon, and includes two excursions: one to the Oscar Niemeyer International Fair in Tripoli, supported by the Niemeyer Heritage Foundation, and one to the Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation, a space designed by the artist herself, preserving works and archives in a continuous dialogue between sculpture, architecture and nature. In parallel, ALBA (Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts | University of Balamand) will activate an Educational Hub with screenings, talks, workshops and round tables dedicated to the theme “Lebanon’s Revival”, creating a space for theoretical exchange and intergenerational dialogue.

After the enthusiasm of the inaugural 2024 edition, this second edition expands its scope and raises the bar: it does not simply celebrate design, but uses it as a cultural, political and social tool to demand continuity, unlock memory and turn it into shared creative energy, strongly affirming that the future of Beirut can only be written through a “we” — a conscious, plural and determined collective.


Roman Baths © Dia Mrad