The Quarantine's Agoras

USEK - Holy spirit University of Kaslik

Project idea

The project aims to Extend what is already existing without erasing the identity of the place. It is about creating and strengthening urban and human connections through art in the city.

The Quarantine of Beirut in Lebanon, is a place rich in its history, the fragments that constitute it and its great heterogeneity of inhabitants. It is an industrial, poor and marginalized region, which is defined by several fragments such as the residential, commercial , industrial, military and services fragments.
There has been a desire for change in the area for several years, and this can be seen in the creation of a public park, in the embellishment of the facades with graffiti and artistic colors to brighten up the urban landscape and by the openings of nightclubs and art galleries.
The Quarantine is located in the center of Beirut city but it is isolated from the bustle and the activities of the city.

How does the Quarantine connect to the rest of the city? How to make the area a center of attractiveness? And what place should be given to Art in the city so as to give new life to the Quarantine, and meet the expectations and aspirations of the inhabitants who compose it?

Connecting the fragments of the Quarantine to each other, through functions and artistic and playful activities, will allow the area to reinvent itself in a new way.
It will also help ease urban tensions for better social cohesion and better integration of the Quarantine in Beirut City.

Project description

There is an existing wall in the Quarantine that surrounds the services fragment. My urban strategy involves working on this wall by creating a suspended promenade that clings to it and connects to the whole area. This walk will also be supported by a metallic lattice structure which refers to the industrial character of the Quarantine. Metallic Elevators and stairs will be embedded in this wall for circulation as well as artistic and innovative functions to hang over this promenade. The wall will be covered with colored graffiti to allow art to embellish the city.

My project is based on the extension of what is already existing, without modifying the identity of the place.

The interventions are:

1- The artists' agora as an extension of the residential fragment, with shops, workshops, restaurants, public spaces and affordable housing for artists.

2- The Bridge that connects the wall to the kids’ agora which is the public park already existing.

3- The night club agora as an extension of the night clubs' fragment that have already emerged in the area .

4- The exhibition agora which is an extension of the Beirut’s forum that already exists (the forum is an exhibition plateform in the area).

I based my project on the already existing urban configuration, to extend its architectural design.

5- A rigid border represented by the highway separates the Quarantine area and Mar Mikhael area. In order to connect them, the wall extends into two bridges on either side which leads to two green areas in the abandoned train station of Mar Mikhael.

Technical information

The Project is based on a sustainable approach with the integration of green and public spaces all around the industrial city.
To respect the industrial character of the city, the materials used all around this urban project are: steel structure, metallic facades that look like containers and metallic louvers. Colors and Graffitis were also added on the interventions to highlight the desire, of the inhabitants and the artists, to embellish the facades with art.