This all pink pavilion was created for Beirut Design Week by Nathalie Harb, Lebanese designer. The idea was to offer the possibility to get silence. We have a wooden structure that was dubbed “Silent Room”, initially sitting in a parking lot close to a Beirut really busy highway. The idea was to offer visitors and residents an environment that will help escape traffic noise or noise from crowds, electronics and construction sites.
Harb declared that silence can only be seen as “an exceptional privilege only a few can indulge.” Access is offered for free for every single person that wants it for half an hour. Nathalie Harb said that cities are usually configured in a way that forces the underprivileged communities to be faced with huge noise pollution. This was labeled as being “social injustice”.
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The Silent Room’s structure was done in a combination with BUF, London architecture collective. Khaled Yassine, sound designer, was brought into the project in order to offer a site soundtrack. It was meant to be soothing. The city at the quiet hours is recorded, offering a good balance.
Pink was chosen because it is a color that is really popular at the moment and is soothing. This color is associated with silence so it was a good fit.
Meditative and calm spaces are very important these days. They are a clear recurring theme at the design weeks these days. People look for such spaces.
