BAU, Beirut, Lebanon by Rabih Geha Architects

From the beaches of Goa to the terraces of Ibiza (and fields off the M25 during the ‘second summer of love’), clubbing has frequently stretched its legs and gone outside. There is nothing quite like dancing under the stars on a balmy southern evening, and, if a beach or suitable climate isn’t to hand, a muddy field has its own charms. In the city, options for outdoor revelry are more limited, but rooftops can provide welcome oases in the summer months. Beirut’s BAU club welcomes patrons via a crimson corridor onto a terrace with a view of the waterfront. The red palette continues into this space, which, with its bold geometric forms, is intended to evoke Asian temples. The Mesopotamian goddess Bau, after whom the bar is named, stands enshrined behind the bar. There is a long tradition of orientalising nightlife, from the famous Buddha room of the original Annabel’s in Belgravia, and the Buddha Bar chain which began in Paris in the mid 1990s. While the goddess here is long extinct, we might ask in other cases whether stereotypes of Asian luxury and loucheness, mediated through religious artefacts, may be coming to the end of their lifespan in bar design.