The Yacoubian building is a prominent commercial and residential edifice in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. The building is located in Caracas neighborhood of

Ras Beirut Ras Beirut ("Tip of Beirut") is an upscale residential neighborhood of Beirut. It has a mixed population of Christians, Muslims, Druze, and secular individuals. Ras Beirut is home to some of Beirut's historically prominent families, such as th ...

, in a prominent coastal strip of the Lebanese capital Beirut. The building belonged to a wealthy

Lebanese-Armenian The Armenians in Lebanon ( hy, Լիբանանահայեր, translit=Libananahayer; ar, الأرمن في لبنان; french: Arméniens du Liban) are Lebanese citizens of Armenian descent. There has been an Armenian presence in Lebanon for centur ...

named Yacoub Yacoubian. The edifice is an enormous 10-story, double-bloc building with 140 flats. Unlike the colonial style of Cairo's Yacoubian Building, Beirut's counterpart comes shaped like a U-turn, copying the style of

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

.Beirut's real-life version of 'The Yacoubian Building'
By John Ehab,

The Daily Star (Lebanon) ''The Daily Star'' was an English-language newspaper in Lebanon which was distributed across the Middle East. It was founded by Kamel Mrowa in 1952, ceased its print format in February 2020, and completely closed on 31 October 2021. History The ...

November 11, 2006 The building was famous for hosting a great number of artists, including singer

Fayza Ahmed Fayza Ahmed ( ar, فايزة أحمد; December 5, 1934 – September 24, 1983) was a Syrian-Egyptian-Lebanese singer and actress. During her career, she appeared in six films. Early life Fayza Ahmed was born in 1934 in Damascus to a Syri ...

and comedian Abdel Salam Al Nabulsy. One floor underground was the venue of a famous Beirut

night club A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

called ''The Venus''. During the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

, the Venus closed its doors and the Yacoubian building declined. The then-chic and now run-down famous Beirut edifice is a metaphor of Beirut's old architectural heritage and is subject of ''Spectrice (Yacoubian Building, Beirut)'' display and work of art''Spectre'' work of art, replica of the Yacoubian Beirut Building
/ref> commissioned in 2006-2008 and made of non-shrinking grout, aluminium, glass, fabric. Beirut's Yacoubian Building is not to be confused with an equally important dominant edifice in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, called Yacoubian Building belonged to the Lebanese-Armenian businessman Hagop Yacoubian, from the same family.

References

Buildings and structures in Beirut Armenian diaspora in Lebanon {{Lebanon-struct-stub