Banque du Liban (BDL)
1962-1964
Addord et Julliard
Facing Hamra street, the Central Bank (BDL) exudes a sense of timeless monumentality with an elevated esplanade majestically leading to the entrance.
Construction began in March of 1963 and the building was inaugurated in great solemnity on March 31 1964, after only 13 months of study and execution.
For this institutional building of primary importance, the architects opted for a sober white monolith finished with marble covering the entrance portico, the repetitive slabs and the crowning parapet.
In alternation, the windows wrapping the building are protected with repetitive thin marble sheets perpendicular to the façade that act as sunscreens and provide the otherwise flat parallelepiped with a refined texture. This is undoubtedly a modern building in which classical elegance prevails.
The design of several regional branches followed the powerful architectural “parti” of the headquarters, though in smaller scales, providing an authoritative presence outside the country’s capital.
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