David Adjaye and Christian Lahoude Design Beirut’s Super-Chic Aïshti by the Sea Mall
Clothing, then culture, now cuisine. After making a fortune importing Italian jeans to Lebanon, Tony Salamé turned to Adjaye Associates to design a stunning hybrid of a building in Beirut, still a relative oasis of calm in a troubled region. The structure houses both his private contemporary-art museum, the Aïshti Foundation, and the 60-boutique luxury mall Aïshti by the Sea with interiors by Christian Lahoude Studio. A veteran of upscale retail design, Christian Lahoude also made his restaurant debut with the mall’s Art People. He outfitted its 2,150 square feet in fashionable backlit onyx, gold mesh, Iranian travertine, and creamy leather. Art by the likes of Doug Aitken and Richard Prince was conveniently plucked straight from next door.