Industry Architectural Design Key people Raëd Abillama Founded 1997 | Website raarchitects.com Type of business Private | |
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Raëd Abillama Architects is an architectural firm based in Lebanon. Raëd Abillama founded the firm in 1997, after returning from the United States where he was educated.
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Their projects are primarily located in Lebanon.The architectural firm has been responsible for the construction of various homes and villas in Lebanon, along with the winery for IXSIR wine and the headquarters for Mitsulift. The company was also selected for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1999 and again in 2001.
History
Raëd Abillama first founded the Architectural firm Raëd Abillama Architects in 1997. He began working in architecture after graduating from Rhode Island School of Design in 1993. After gaining a master's degree in 1994 from Columbia University in Architectural Design, he moved to Lebanon to establish an architectural firm.
Following the foundation of Raëd Abillama Architects they began to offer services for building design, interior and industrial design. In 1999 Raëd Abillama Architects was selected for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1999. The company was selected again for the Aga Khan Award in 2001 & 2007. In 2005, the company were finalists for the YCE Design Award. In 2010, the Mada Residential Development in Lebanon. A year later CNN featured the IXSIR winery in a feature for their Greenest buildings of 2011. During the same year, Raed Abillama Architects were awarded the Green Good Design for 2011. In 2014 the Silver Award - Africa Middle East for “Evergreen City, Urban Pine Forest Rehabilitation" was awarded to Raëd Abillama Architects for Beirut Pine Forest.
The headquarters for Mitsulift in Lebanon was completed in 2012 by Raëd Abillama Architects. The design of the building had a number of unique features, inlacing the exterior, which was designed to reduce the impact of direct sunlight, reducing heat intake. The windows were created at a floor to ceiling height and placed in the shade facing either east or west to maximise natural sunlight, without increasing the heat.
In late 2013, Raëd Abillama completed the restoration of a 380-year-old winery for IXSIR wine. The winery was located outside Batroun in Lebanon and went on to win the POP Architizer A+ Award in the same year. The project and restoration focused on modernising the building and aspects of the building. During the same year, Raëd also completed the construction of a beach house located in Jbeil, Lebanon, along with other villas that received media coverage for their unique designs. While designing the homes, the architectural firm would often concentrate on various aspects, including everything down to the furniture. During the same year, the brand was also announced as a Good Green Architecture 2013 winner for their residential project Faqra Degrees in Lebanon.
Raëd Abillama Architects designed the store in Beirut for the fashion brand, Joseph. The store was completed and open in early 2014 and went on to feature in Global Blue magazine in April 2014.