(De)sign of the times

“We gradually noticed a few abandoned commercial venues being renovated and then new tenants moving in. They were mainly little boutiques owned by young adults and at first we felt a sense of pride that people were recognizing our neighborhood as a place for creative business activities but now, with all the bars and the traffic and the noise, it’s just too much!” says Agop Barberian, an old time resident and electronics repair shop owner in Mar Mikhael. He recalls how his once almost forgotten neighborhood emerged as a destination for designers less than a decade ago, and how it rapidly turned into what he now compares to an insatiable monster. Mar Mikhael’s urban fabric  While districts such as Monot and Gemmayze have roared with nightlife since the 1990s, Mar Mikhael was considered a low to middle income, mainly industrial area where many car services outlets, metal workers and workshops could