Beit Trad, once a traditional Lebanese family home, now reborn into a guesthouse, opens its doors to visitors and invites them to a walk down memory lane offering such the reminiscing experience. The guesthouse is composed of three separate structures, connected together through shared terraces and alleyways with breath-taking nature embracing it from all sides. The lighting design is aimed to accentuate both the natural and architectural elements of the guesthouse, all the while staying discreetly hidden within the structure.
A narrow roadway sandwiched between layers of trees leads you to the entrance of Beit Trad. On both sides of the pathway, a play of intensities overwhelms the forest. Canopies and trunks are accentuated by different light intensities giving the forest a certain depth. Along with the shadows cast on the ground and the pathway’s general lighting, the scene looks rather like a mystical painting.
As you walk into the entrance of the guesthouse, a moon light effect appears on the floor, cast from the small branch projectors on the tall trees and glowing shrubs appear on the outline of the piazza. Then, leading the way into the first building, a narrow pathway starts with an arched doorway covered with vines. A soft light embraces the arch after which, a series of shrubs and plants cast their shadow on the pathway floor. A warm antique wall light greets the guests upon entering the house and the shadows of the trees wash the stone facade.
General lighting of the exterior is mostly provided from tall trees on which branch projectors are installed while shorter, fuller trees glow with branch projectors lighting their canopies. A couple of steps lead to the pool area whose general lighting is provided from surrounding trees; the pool itself is glowing with the reflection of adjacent tree canopies.
Much like the lighting of the landscape, the lighting in the interior aims to emphasise the architecture elements and make them stand out. Therefore, customisation was made to already existing lighting elements so as to make them blend into the architecture smoothly and a uniform but soft general lighting is achieved with a dramatic lighting ambience.
Each guest room has its own antique suspension with LED bulbs tailored to the ambience of the room. In the arched corridor, as you walk through a series of black and white vintage photos, a small wall bracket holds an LED light bulb covered with an arched metal mesh and softly washes the walkway, then similar light fittings sit inside the niches on the other side to create a play of contrast between them and their surroundings.
Though the entire ambience of the guesthouse is a traditional one, emphasised by the use of antique light suspensions and decorative elements, the interior and exterior lighting is controlled by a smart system. All guest rooms’ light fittings are dimmable and controlled
