Anyone who has been paying attention will have noticed that a host of exciting new green projects are popping up all over the Middle East, including the soaring vertical garden at the Al-Sultan Ibrahim restaurant in Maameltein, Lebanon.
Designed by Green Studios Beirut and Gatserelia, the 96 square meter living wall in one of Lebanon’s most well-known seafood restaurants surpasses the West Elm green wall in Kuwait in both size and scope, making it quite possibly the largest of its kind in the entire Middle East/North Africa region.
Al-Sultan Ibrahim was opened by two brothers in 1968 as a seafood joint that served only the highest quality food available. It has grown since has went through a re-branding transformation in 2005.
There are several branches of the new and improved restaurant, including the one in Maameltein, which is the only one to date to feature a massive vertical garden inside.
Comprised of teak, stone and glass panels that each hold a different species of plant, inclufing Ficus Lyrata and Hypoestes, the vertical garden has several functions.
In addition to looking great, and thereby attracting customers – like bee to pollen – indoor gardens help to promote biodiversity and also improve air quality.
In countries like Lebanon and Kuwait, where recent NASA images horrendous levels of pollution that make breathing an uncomfortable experience, any kind of greenery is welcome and goes a long way to scrubbing harmful pollutants from the atmosphere.
Green Studios has been recognized by the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region for their work with green walls and rooftop gardens. This one was completed in February, 2012.
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Comments are closed.