Capitole Restaurant & Lounge

Beirut Central District, Lebanon

Photo © Ieva Saudargaitè

Lighting Designers: PSLab

Ano: 2016

Located on a rooftop of a historical building in Beirut’s Central District, that was initially built to be a theatre, later transformed into a cinema and offices, Capitole is a summer restaurant and lounge.

Wanting to go back in history and translate the theatrical DNA of the place, interior designer Adrian Perez created several platforms / floor levels to define the bar and dining sitting areas, building various scenes throughout the space.

A self-lit circular bar is placed at the end on a higher platform, creating a mirror effect with a previously installed water tank located at the other end of the long rectangular shaped space.

Collaborating closely with Adrian Perez and Capitole’s owners and as a response to an initial brief of a casual atmosphere and a multifunctional space, PSLab developed a lighting solution for the rooftop. The challenges were mostly the elongated shape of the rooftop, the relationship between the indoor and outdoor spaces and mostly the restrictions due to the historical nature and location of the building.

A technical lighting approach was created using metal structures, wrapping and defining the terrace. The rods were used as a holding structure for dangling bougainvillea and support for speakers and clip on directional projectors.

As a decorative layer, a total of 69 wall mounted glass and powder coated aluminum sconces were placed on the indoor and outdoor walls, forming playful lighting grids. The wall appliques were rated IP65 for outdoor use and the glass dome shaped heads made from borosilicate glass for security purposes.

Rusted steel and powder-coated table lamps were designed and built to be integrated in the structure of both the indoor and outdoor concrete bars.