PHOTOS: RUDY BOUCHEBEL
The Rebirth Of A Living Space
Revival Of An Apartment By ROHD
At the request of dissatisfied inhabitants—
ROHD’s mission was to revive the residential
project by relieving the apartment from the
poor structure and selection of furniture and
replace it with assertive elegance.
ROHD (Roland Helou Design), is the Beirut-based interior architecture
and multidisciplinary design studio that rests on the aesthetic
sensibility and design expertise of University of the Arts London
master graduate Roland Helou.
With the two challenges of structure and choice of furniture in mind,
ROHD envisioned a more spacious interior, using signature innovative
techniques such as the bar annexed to dining table, and classic ones of
using cabinets for storage to maximize space.
Those cabinets are all hidden, disguising as wood panels adorning
the walls of the entrance and setting a cordial greeting tone. One of
those panels doubles as a secret door to the living room and bedrooms
area. Above, a panelling connects the entrance to the salon, extending
to almost half of the latter, and ultimately transforming into an open
library of brass and glass.
Now, fully in the first salon, the most impressive chimney wall
that is covered in brushed Spanish Nero Marquina marble stands
as a showpiece. Surrounding the chimney is black metal with a
designed belt in brass, giving an aura of homey magnificence that is
accentuated by four Tyria coffee tables of different heights and even
material: all base in brass and top of either back-painted glass, ink
blue, or Palissandro wood. Those tables are ROHD retrofuturistic pieces