{"id":62,"date":"2025-07-21T10:30:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T10:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/?p=62"},"modified":"2025-07-21T14:25:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T14:25:19","slug":"etienne-bastormagis-mirrored-incision-opens-beirut-streetfront-to-spontaneous-encounters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/21\/etienne-bastormagis-mirrored-incision-opens-beirut-streetfront-to-spontaneous-encounters\/","title":{"rendered":"etienne bastormagi\u2019s mirrored incision opens beirut streetfront to spontaneous encounters"},"content":{"rendered":"

a shrine for the city redefines public and private in beirut<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

A mirrored incision on the streetfront in Beirut<\/strong><\/a> shapes a threshold between city and gallery. Titled A Shrine for the City, the ephemeral intervention by Studio Etienne Bastormagi configures a boundary between the institutional and the public realm for a playful spatial interface that is porous and responsive to its surrounding rhythms. During its weeklong installation<\/strong><\/a> in July, it invites public use in different ways, from staging spontaneous gatherings to performances and discussions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The reflective intervention coincides with the second anniversary of Takeover Gallery and marks a return for Etienne Bastormagi, whose studio previously occupied the space. As the Lebanese architect notes, his aim is to \u2018reframe, not reclaim,\u2019 and by removing the gallery\u2019s facade, the project opens the space fully to the street, rendering what is conventionally an enclosed, curated interior as an outward-facing opening, accessible around the clock.<\/p>\n

\"etienne
all images courtesy of Etienne Bastormagi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

etienne bastormagi carves a mirrored open urban threshold<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

The work draws on Beirut\u2019s vernacular language, particularly the mirrored shrines found throughout the city \u2014 makeshift memorials or spiritual markers embedded into urban surfaces. A Shrine for the City expands this typology to an architectural scale, without losing its intimacy. The reflective skin invites passersby to pause in their journeys, to glimpse themselves framed in the city, and to step in without instruction. In doing so, it shifts the experience of both gallery and street.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The mirrored surfaces reflect, absorb, and invite, and light, movement, and ambient noise are registered as spatial materials themselves. This responsiveness aligns with Etienne Bastormagi\u2019s broader practice<\/a>,<\/strong> which frequently works within tight constraints to uncover latent spatial potential. Here, the small 20 square meter footprint becomes a site of encounter activated in different conditions at various times of day, with the architecture framing the encounters.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"etienne
A Shrine for the City redefines public and private<\/p>\n

\"etienne
a mirrored incision on the streetfront in Beirut<\/p>\n

\"etienne
Studio Etienne Bastormagi configures a boundary between the institutional and the public realm<\/p>\n

\t<\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\"beirut-shrine-city-etienne-bastormagi-designboom-01\"<\/p>\n

\n
\n

a playful spatial interface that is porous and responsive to its surrounding rhythms<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\"etienne
the reflective intervention coincides with the second anniversary of Takeover Gallery<\/p>\n

\"etienne
the architect notes, his aim is to \u2018reframe, not reclaim’<\/p>\n

\"\"
the project opens the space fully to the street<\/p>\n

\t<\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\"beirut-shrine-city-etienne-bastormagi-designboom-02\"<\/p>\n

\n
\n

a small 20 square meter footprint<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\"\"
created as a site of encounter activated in different conditions at various times of day<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

name: <\/strong>A Shrine for the City<\/p>\n

architect:\u00a0<\/strong>Studio Etienne Bastormagi<\/a> | @studio__etiennebastormagi<\/a><\/p>\n

location: <\/strong>Takeover Beirut, <\/a>Beirut, Lebanon<\/p>\n

The post etienne bastormagi’s mirrored incision opens beirut streetfront to spontaneous encounters<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

a shrine for the city redefines public and private in beirut   A mirrored incision on the streetfront in Beirut shapes a threshold between city and gallery. Titled A Shrine for the City, the ephemeral intervention by Studio Etienne Bastormagi configures a boundary between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74,"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions\/74"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plaztrovenaki.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}