Meet ‘Al-Basa’: Lebanon’s Skinniest Building
In the 1950’s, a Lebanese father based in Lebanon built the skinniest building in the nation, which more or less, looks just like a wall. Now, a fight that has escalated to a whole other level between the brothers Salah and Fawzi Itanis, has cemented itself (pun intended), and been made visible for quite some time now! We’ve all had some grudges against our siblings, but has this idea crossed your mind yet? The purpose of this whole idea was for one man to block his brother’s seafront view. Shocked? Surprised? Well, both for sure! This skinny building is called Al-Basa, and it is now one of the most-valued real estate properties. Al-Basa, or in English called ‘The Grudge,’ goes back to 1954. The building is just two feet wide at its narrowest, and 14 feet at its widest, according to the Insider.
Sandra Rishani, an architect and urban planner, researched the extraordinary of the building, and said it “is a tribute to the failure of planners to realize the effects of their macro-scale interventions in socio-political, economic, and built localities.” The building was constructed to serve as a wall, blocking what would have been a million-dollar view. The two brothers couldn’t agree on how two split the land together, so one of them decided to erect this building in order to block his brother’s sea view, in hopes of decreasing the land value.
Despite its delicate and wee size, the building has served as a somewhat satisfactory and lodgeable place, consisting of rooms, a kitchen, huge windows for sunlight, and should go without saying, a sea view. It remains unknown who owns the building in the present day, as the space remains vacant. ‘The Grudge’ has previously been used as a brothel during the war, as well as hosting several refugees throughout the past years.
