Liza Asseily – whose first restaurant launched in Paris in 2005 – brought her distinctive culinary style to Beirut in 2013 when she opened Liza, at the city's Metropolitan Club. To create the restaurant's statement interiors, Asseily drew on an eclectic host of creatives, from architects to artists; the results are both original and modern but also rooted in the aesthetics of Lebanon, her home country.
For Beirut Design Week, she teamed up with the curator Maria Ousseimi who designed Liza's interiors. Together they gathered a selection of contributors – including the Milan-based wallpaper and fabric designer Idarica Gazzoni and architect Karim Bekdache – to her Paris and Beirut ventures, asking them to produce pieces inspired by her restaurants (and also the traditional colloquialism, 'The Lebanese make elephants fly...'). The result is a quirky curation of plates, bags and serving vessels that all tap into the spaces' much-loved interiors – particularly the leafy Mediterranean atmosphere of the Beirut iteration.
Idarica Gazzoni, the Bologna-born artist, used her artistic talent to cover the walls at Liza with bold patterns. For Beirut Design Week, she recreated her sought-after wallpaper designs (found in four rooms at Liza) on plates
Inspired by traditional Lebanese mezza, Liza Beirut and Karen Chekerdjian created this lunch tray. A handmade staple featuring mouth-blown glass bowls, brass and ornamental etchings, it's a great table centrepiece
The Goods Shopper Tote was designed by Maria Hibri and Huda Baroudi. It is made entirely out of repurposed duck cloth, sourced from food transport trucks, and uniquely captures the local expression 'The Lebanese make elephants fly…'
Hubert Fattal was the designer who created the atmosphere of Liza's first restaurant in Paris with star shaped copper lamps and his purpose-created scented candle, Rosa Liza. Fattal also produced this candleholder which reflects the essential traits of Liza's identity: Mediterranean simplicity and timeless elegance
ADDRESS
Metropolitan Club
Rue Doumani
Trabaud
Aghrafieh
Beyrouth
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