Building Pan American

Notes

The Pan American Building designed by George Rais and Théo Canaan, assisted by Assem Salam, is a finely proportioned and well detailed building that drew its richness from appropriate understanding of, and response to, rational needs. Here, the implementation in Riad Solh Square at the prow of the street and the need to react differently in terms of sun control on the east and south elevations, determined design choices. Rais created a subtle balance between a separate reading of the sides and the unity of the building as a whole. An attention to human scale is found in various aspects of the building, namely in the eastern wall which shifts back at pedestrian level, to define the entrance on Rue Riad Solh. The building had a mobile by Alexander Calder who came to Beirut at the time.
(George Arbid)

Sources

George Rais

Architectural Design, vol. 27, March 1957, p. 105.

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