Christopher GhoussoubThat mission has now received international recognition. Foukhar Beit Chabeb: Reactivating a Village Craft Economy won the 2026 Impact Award at the Institut du monde arabe Design Prize in Paris, bringing a deeply local Lebanese story onto an international platform. For Ghoussoub, the award is as much about Beit Chabeb and the generations of potters who came before him as it is about his own work. Pottery is part of Ghoussoub’s family history. Pieces made by his great-grandfather remained in the family, giving him a tangible connection to the craft long before he began practising it himself. “Clay can preserve the gesture of a person for decades, even centuries,” he says. Over time, that inheritance became a personal responsibility to ensure the knowledge did not disappear.
Through Foukhar Studio, Ghoussoub works with traditional terracotta forms, including large vessels historically used for wine, olive oil, water and food. But his approach is not about reproducing the past. As a designer and architect, he experiments with proportion, texture and function, exploring how terracotta can enter contemporary furniture, interiors, objects and architecture.“For me, preserving heritage does not mean freezing it,” he says. “It means allowing it to evolve without losing its identity.” Winning the Impact Award has strengthened that ambition. “It proves that you don’t necessarily have to leave your roots behind to move forward,” Ghoussoub says. “Sometimes your roots are exactly what allow you to create something meaningful.” His goal now is bigger than building one successful studio. He wants workshops to reopen, young people to learn the craft and pottery to once again become a viable profession in Beit Chabeb. “The dream is not to remain the last potter,” he says. “The dream is to become one of many again.”
Through Foukhar Studio, Ghoussoub works with traditional terracotta forms, including large vessels historically used for wine, olive oil, water and food. But his approach is not about reproducing the past. As a designer and architect, he experiments with proportion, texture and function, exploring how terracotta can enter contemporary furniture, interiors, objects and architecture.“For me, preserving heritage does not mean freezing it,” he says. “It means allowing it to evolve without losing its identity.” Winning the Impact Award has strengthened that ambition. “It proves that you don’t necessarily have to leave your roots behind to move forward,” Ghoussoub says. “Sometimes your roots are exactly what allow you to create something meaningful.” His goal now is bigger than building one successful studio. He wants workshops to reopen, young people to learn the craft and pottery to once again become a viable profession in Beit Chabeb. “The dream is not to remain the last potter,” he says. “The dream is to become one of many again.”
