Along the ridge separating the coastal line neighborhoods from the overlooking ones, a series of stairs tie in between. My office, PAD7, located in Mar Mkhayel, is a 7 minutes stroll up to my apartment, in Rmeil. I encounter two stairs on the way up and down but, more importantly, I cross paths with many of the aging demographic trying to catch their breath while climbing the steep steps. The art installation “chairs on stairs” calls for staggering the familiar traditional chair, ‘kerse el-khaizaran’, along the stairs to provide a moment of serenity, relaxation, and communication while maintaining stairs as a viable option, to connect neighborhoods.
Chairs and stairs, although rhyming, stand in opposition and appreciation to one another. The relentless and dynamic stairs, draped across the ridge of the city provide an unblemished format of the sidewalk, uncompromised by encroaching parked cars. Chairs, static and restful, are pinned along the stairs to become markings; an invite to have a moment of reflection to sit and look back at the city from a higher vantage point – a stepped sidewalk with a view.
Along the ridge separating the coastal line neighborhoods from the overlooking ones, a series of stairs tie in between. My office, PAD7, located in Mar Mkhayel, is a 7 minutes stroll up to my apartment, in Rmeil. I encounter two stairs on the way up and down but, more importantly, I cross paths with many of the aging demographic trying to catch their breath while climbing the steep steps. The art installation “chairs on stairs” calls for staggering the familiar traditional chair, ‘kerse el-khaizaran’, along the stairs to provide a moment of serenity, relaxation, and communication while maintaining stairs as a viable option, to connect neighborhoods.
Chairs and stairs, although rhyming, stand in opposition and appreciation to one another. The relentless and dynamic stairs, draped across the ridge of the city provide an unblemished format of the sidewalk, uncompromised by encroaching parked cars. Chairs, static and restful, are pinned along the stairs to become markings; an invite to have a moment of reflection to sit and look back at the city from a higher vantage point – a stepped sidewalk with a view.
