New Port for Beirut

Project idea

The aim of INSPIRELI BEIRUT PORT COMPETITION is to bring new solution and urban design for the Beirut former cargo and passenger port area which was destroyed by the explosion. On August the 4th 2020, a massive ammonium nitrate storage explosion occured in the center of port area in Beirut. The essence of this thesis is to show solutions for the reconstruction and renewal ways of the Beirut port zone.
In our design, we have added new features to the zone, a spacious, high-quality public space and an imaginative architecture.
When solving the urban design, we have chosen a creative approach, so we introduced a dynamic form of an ellipse into the mostly orthogonal urban network of Beirut, on which our development and urban concept of the territory is based. In the design, the ellipse focuses on the role of the main road that connects the city with the solved zone.
The aim of that design was to build the given area on its feet again, to enrich it with different functions, to fill it with imaginative architecture, and most of all, offer it to people. With its solution, the design
expresses the present, progress and looks into the face of a better future, but at the same time it humbly keeps its recent past alive in memory and doesn't forget it.

Project description

The urban concept is based on the element of the ellipse. The closed curve of the ellipse represents the line of development of the urban structure. The design is unusual and adds dynamism to the surrounding of the existing urban structure. The aim was to create a structure that would be visibly new and different yet would not compete with the original one; on the contrary, it would effectively complement and connect it. The shape of the ellipse is mostly captured by the shape of the main road. The architecture or the newly proposed extension of the mainland taking the role of completing the shape of the ellipse. From the south, the proposed urban structure is arranged in classic urban blocks with inner blocks and pedestrian connections. In the middle part the urban block layout is intersected by a park that forms a green axis oriented perpendicular to the arc of the ellipse. At this point, the roads are set back or underground. The largest transportation hub within the proposed area is located just below the park. Towards the sea, the urban structure is slightly less orderly, looser and results in 4 peninsulas, where the main functions and the focal public space of the designed area are located. From east to west, the following are situated on the peninsulas: the Passenger Port, the Multifunctional extension and support for the destroyed silo, the Cultural Centre with theatre and the Aquarium with Botanical Garden with hydroponic cultivation. A sports and recreation centre are located on the fifth newly-proposed peninsula emerging from the original breakwater. A seaside promenade runs parallel to the main road linking the proposed urban structure, the peninsula zones, and the park.

Technical information

Due to the organic and complicated shapes used in our proposed architecture, the materiality, design and construction system of the buildings will be very specific and diverse.
We mainly consider reinforced concrete and steel structures in our designs. The solution of the facades, like the construction, is very diverse in terms of materials and art. In the designs, we used different types of glazing, metal facade cladding, different shading solutions, green facades/roofs, etc.
As for the foundation conditions - the entire area under consideration is located on artificially created land and is in the immediate vicinity of the sea coast, so we are considering deep foundations, especially for high buildings and buildings located on peninsulas.
As we keep the ruin of the silo in our proposal, it is necessary to thoroughly treat the ruins , to clean and preserve its entire surroundings in order to prevent its disintegration.

Documentation

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