Crossroads

We are Carol El Farraji and Karla Abou Khalil, two Lebanese architects, researchers and contemporary heritage practitioners working across architecture, urbanism, adaptive reuse, documentation and visual inquiry. Our work explores places in transition, combining architectural research, photography and field observation to investigate how ecological, cultural and social processes continue to shape the built environment.
Our practice has been shaped by academic, professional and cultural experiences across Lebanon, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Saudi Arabia and the United States. We first met during our Bachelor of Architecture before reuniting through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Architecture and Urban Contemporary Heritage (ARURCOHE), completed across San Sebastián, Turin and Kaunas, where our shared interest in twentieth century heritage developed into a lasting collaboration.
While our research follows different trajectories, it converges around a common ambition to rethink how contemporary heritage is understood and engaged with. Carol's research examines how heritage shaped by disruption can be reinterpreted through design, documentation and collective narratives. Karla's work reinterprets Beirut's post war modern heritage as sites of conscience, exploring how architecture can foster collective reflection and public engagement. Together, we bridge architectural practice, heritage research and visual inquiry to develop collaborative, site responsive approaches to the built environment.
Our paths crossed years ago, but Crossroads emerged through our shared commitment to contemporary heritage. More than a name, it reflects how we practice: at the intersection of architecture, research, visual inquiry and storytelling, uncovering the layered relationships between people, places and landscapes in transition.