Amman’s first Arabic typo facade

25/7/2008

Deconstructivist architecture meets modern Arabic typography in this facade of a new restaurant that will open on Amman’s Mecca street!

This building has caught my attention for the first time some months ago, as I saw its “haphazardly” placed metal columns being erected.

But it was a real surprise around a week ago to see that the facade of this building is actually made up of modern Arabic lettering. Wow.

The restaurant is called Al-Diwan Beirut, so it’s yet another Lebanese import to Amman (the more the merrier . But I find it extremely courageous of the owners to go with such an architectural idea. I mean, what happens to this facade if, one day, the restaurant changes names.

The other fascinating thing is that this seems to be a restaurant with a regional/Arabian theme, yet the chosen style of Architecture completely ignores the typical arabesques usually associated with such establishments and instead shows its cultural identity through a dizzying display of Arabic type.

The restaurant seems to late for the summer season. But I can’t wait to see it from the inside.