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About

EAST Architecture Studio is a collective practice committed to architectural design and experimental research. We create innovative built environments of different scales – from master-planning to interior design and adaptive reuse, engaging contemporary society and traditional culture. Our studio acts as an open laboratory continuously in search of new architectural typologies that reconsider the intersection between spatial experience, form, and technology while adjusting to changing social, economic, and political environments.

Projects emerge from the studio with optimism, translating visionary ideas into an architecture of the present – a reality that the team embraces, with a particular interest in intellectual pursuits and design research. Emphasis on history, culture and the territory are an integral part of the adopted design methods, defining an architectural response that engages with the challenges of our time.

 

 

 

Charles Kettaneh. With roots in the US and Lebanon, Charles Kettaneh has a truly global approach to architecture. He undertook his architecture studies at the American University of Beirut and Pratt Institute in New York City, where he graduated with honors. He also pursued management studies at INSEAD.

Prior to founding EAST, Charles’ professional path included work for international design offices across the USA, including RSVP Studio, Perkins Eastman and Nelson, and for Raed Abillama Architects in Lebanon. His work has been exhibited and published at Pratt Institute and InProcess Magazine.

 

Nicolas Fayad. Nicolas began his architectural studies at the American University of Beirut, completing them at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he was awarded a Masters in Architecture, with distinction. He made the Forbes 30 Under 30 List upon graduating in the Art & Design Category.

His work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, and published in Wallpaper Magazine and the New York Review of Architecture. In 2021, Nicolas was a visiting lecturer at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Practice in Architecture at the American University of Beirut.

 

 

 

The Team. Based in Beirut and the United Arab Emirates, EAST Architecture Studio works internationally with networks spread across four continents.

 

Collaborators. Past and Present

Andrea Chaanine | Batoul Faour | Careen Matta

Christele Harrouk | Cynthia Atoui

  David Abou Jaoude | Dima Arbid | Elie Geha

Elio Moussa | Firas Abou Fakher | Farah Nasrallah

Ghaith Abi Ghanem | Helena Homsi | Iosif Gkinis

 Isabela Serhan | Jad Azhari | Jad Melki

Joanna Saadé | Karen Sarkis | Karine Yassine

Layan Hajjar | Lea Tabaja | Lori Kharpoutlian

Lina Hammoud | Lucile Abi Chebl | Maria Christina Abou Zeid

Mariyam Yassin | Mia Zeidan | Mohamad Chami

Mohamad Makkouk | Myriam Soubra

Nadine Haddad | Nabih Msharbash | Rama Assi

Riwa Karanouh | Rudy Riachy | Samer Bou Rjeily

Sari Kantari | Yasmina Abi Mahmoud

Zeina Azoury | Zeina Chamseddine