The Grudge or Al Ba’sa-The Skinniest building in the World

The Grudge or Al Ba’sa

The Grudge is a sliver-thin house in Beirut, built-in 1954. In Arabic it is Al Ba’sa, the house is just a bit over 3.9 meters at its widest point and just around 0.6 meters at its narrowest. From a side view, the “house” looks more like a wall than a place to live. But despite its narrow dimensions, Al Ba’sa is habitable and is the skinniest building in the Beirut. Each floor of the structure contains two apartments and very funny-looking buildings from all over the world.

Why it is Built like this

It is said that the two brothers inherited land from their father but they couldn’t decide how to split the land between them, as the property has a very small area. A dispute was complicated when the part of the property had been cut over the years by various municipal infrastructure projects, leaving a portion of the land smaller and in an odd shape. One brother decided to take that small, oddly shaped land and build a building that fits the land with the added bonus of blocking his brother’s ocean view.

The building plan is so perfect that his brother can’t see the spectacular sea view, and the property values would also sink. The apartments on each floor inside the building are beautiful. The prime location along the Lebanese capital’s Mediterranean coast, The Grudge or Al Ba’sa Building is expected to stand still in the foreseeable future as Beirut’s.

 

The Grudge or Al Ba’sa Location

The property gained international attention after an architect Sandra Rishani researched the building for a collection of forgotten stories entitled “Beruit Re-Collected” in 2014. Rishani was surprised that despite her career background, she had not heard of The Grudge or Al Ba’sa a sliver-thin house in Beirut, built-in 1954 building until her father told her about building, and she took to the streets to untangle the myth.

The building served as a brothel throughout the Lebanese Civil War and also for refugees in the years when it was built. Although it is not listed as a heritage building, and therefore not protected by the bill protecting such buildings.

The plot on which the building stands cannot be developed under the city’s building laws. According to these laws, no new structure may be built in its place, even if the house is demolished, because the plot has a smaller area than what is allowed to build on. Now the building is an unmissable element of Lebanon, and Beirut’s landscape and It is now one of the most valued real estate properties in the city.