BEIRUT: WATERLESS WORLD

Project idea

Through the reconstruction of the Port of Beirut, the project aims to solve some of the burning problems of the City of Beirut and the whole of Lebanon. It is absurd that Beirut, a city that basically has water written in its name (Beirut - Phoenician (n.) the wells), has been struggling with drinking water pollution for a long time. The Lebanese population suffers from water restrictions, and this is recognized as one of the most important problems. The plan for the new Port of Beirut was designed with a vision of a better future for all people of Lebanon.

Project description

The solution should be observed through several aspects.

First of all, with the necessary renewal of the basic functions of the port (trade and tourism), but with innovations and new technical solutions found in the examples of modern world ports, the return of the Port of Beirut to the place it had in world trade will be achieved.

Second aspect: the question of the silos and the attitude towards the accident that happened. In the new port, old silos and explosion crater will become a memorial space that will forever serve the purpose of remembrance as an impulse of the past.

The third aspect, and the most important one in this project, offers a solution to the problem of drinking water in Lebanon, that is- the lack of it. The process of desalination of salty seawater would provide a long-term solution to the lack of drinking water.

Also, the project includes solutions to some more pressing problems, such as:
1. rising sea levels due to global warming and the impact it has on the port (solution: living breakwaters made of oysters that grow over time),
2. green solutions for electricity (solution: sea wave power plant, using movement of water to produce electricity),
3. the lack of green spaces and parks in the city (solution: water gardens designed with the system of water wells and green areas),
4. the issue of housing for people who have lost homes due to an explosion in the Port of Beirut (solution: new urban territory, planned as an extension of the Beirut downtown - multifamily housing for port workers and people who lost their homes).

Technical information

The project is planned in four phases:
1. memory + sustainability: sea wave power plant + sea water desalination plant + water institute / R&D center
2. economy and trade - restoring the competitiveness of the port in its context: cargo port
3. new urban territory: multi-family housing for port workers and people who lost their homes due to the explosion
4. encouraging tourism: a marina and a new passenger terminal.

SEA WAVE POWER PLANT with an onshore power generator located on the breakwater, provides electricity for the city, but also for powering the SEA WATER DESALINATION PLANT. The resulting water purified from salt is transported (through the system of underground pipes) to the main water tank on the coast, where it is pre-treated and prepared for the second stage of desalination. Next to the reservoir there is also a water institute, which is divided into four units: production (HPP&RO system, ERD, post-treatment to FRESH WATER and bottling for transport), administration, research & development, and citizenship services (where a laboratory is provided for testing drinking water in the city). Water institute: research and development center is connected to the old silo and together they form one ambient unit. The silo and explosion crater are turned into a MEMORIAL COMPLEX where water is used to create an ambience in the space, through the rain room and paths on water, which leads us through the space with a moment for reflection and thus preserves the memory of that event and the people who died. This unit continues to develop into other public spaces, such as WATER GARDENS (necessary green areas that Beirut lacks), but also the fish souk and fish port, which are mostly used by the city's residents but which represent an interesting cultural landmark.
Passengers and cargo are functionally separate entities. The PASSENER PORT is located closer to the city and connected to the water gardens and public spaces, while the CARGO PORT is moved to the other side of the memorial, closer to the industrial zone of the city, and completely separated from the coast by a canal. The cargo port is designed according to the case study of the Port of Rotterdam, innovative and optimized, with a ghost terminal and a stacking yard managed by programmed automated vehicles.