INTERIORS I Amman
Perched above one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, this family home in Amman overlooks an ever-evolving urban landscape. Originally designed in the 1990s by renowned Jordanian architect Ammar Khammash, the approximately 1,800-square-metre residence has, for more than two decades, witnessed the life of a single family while quietly housing an extraordinary art collection assembled over the years.
Today, following an extensive renovation led by French designer Tristan Auer, the house embarks on a new chapter—one in which memory and contemporary living coexist in delicate equilibrium. Rather than pursuing a simple aesthetic refresh, the project set out to fundamentally rethink the way the house is inhabited. What began in 2019 as a targeted intervention gradually evolved into an almost complete reconstruction of the interior, carefully reconfigured to reflect the owners' present-day lifestyle and that of their three adult children.
In a culture where hospitality and family gatherings lie at the heart of everyday life, the reorganisation of the interior was guided by the desire to create spaces that are open, generous and adaptable—equally suited to intimate moments of family life and to larger social occasions. Yet the true achievement of the renovation lies in its sensitivity towards the original architecture. Rather than erasing the past, Tristan Auer chose to identify, preserve and celebrate the elements that give the house its unique identity. These fragments of memory now serve as meaningful anchors within an unmistakably contemporary interior, demonstrating that modernisation does not require history to be erased.
The journey through the house unfolds beneath generous arches, along gently curved passages and through carefully proportioned volumes, creating a subtle interplay of compression and release that lends the interior both rhythm and spatial depth. The main staircase was completely reimagined, while the contemporary interventions integrate effortlessly into an architectural framework that continues to assert its original character. At the centre of the living room, the existing mosaic has been meticulously preserved and woven into the new composition, while the original ceiling—with its distinctive geometry and the patina acquired over decades—has been retained as a quiet testimony to the history of the house.
At the heart of the entire project lies the owners' remarkable art collection, composed primarily of works by Jordanian and Arab artists, many of them acquired long before their creators achieved international recognition. More than a private collection, it forms the cultural foundation upon which the new interior has been conceived.
Within this context, the interior was intentionally designed as a calm and understated backdrop. Light-filled surfaces, natural materials and a restrained palette allow the artworks to emerge as the true protagonists of the space. Here, art is never merely decorative; it becomes an organic presence, woven into everyday life and deeply embedded in the cultural identity of the home. The result is an interior that resists uniformity in favour of a layered narrative, where European influences engage in a subtle dialogue with local sensibilities and with the distinctly Levantine spirit that continues to define the house.
www.tristanauer.com
Photography by Amaury Laparra
Words by Andreea Dicianu
Discover the full version of this story in Volume VI.