NEW BEIRUT

Project idea

The projected area is being developed as a testing and demonstration ground for the circular future of the city and port and provides an inspiring educational and experimental environment.
The main idea is to create a "City in the garden". Create an area where nature and civilization merge together, forming a different quality of life and public spaces. The territory will become a lively area, which is characterized by a combination of new manufacturing industry, urban facilities, life and culture. By adding a significant number of houses, the territory makes a significant contribution to the task of building a central part of the city in the Beirut area. Thus, the district makes an important contribution to attracting and retaining the people needed to form the city and port of the future. The territory offers the opportunity to share energy, knowledge, skills and employment with the surrounding areas.
Innovative working environment, life forms and smart mobility ensure the sustainable growth of the city and contribute to the renewal of the port, for example, by companies that continue to grow from the initial stage.

Project description

1. Pedestrians
The area becomes a walking route and the unification of the Corniche embankment with the new public space of the city.
The route opens the port embankment, park, city square and makes it attractive for work and facilities such as education, sports and catering.
2. Cyclists
The area will be a cycling route and will become a local connection of the Corniche embankment with the new public space of the city. It is very important that the central area, the former elevator, which is still completely fenced, will be accessible to cyclists, pedestrians and emergency services.
Thus, the district and the city are not only interconnected, but also integrated into a regional network of cycling and hiking routes, which contributes to improving the quality of the intended environment for life and work.
3. Connections with the landscape.
New connections through bridges with surrounding areas make bridges a connecting element, not a dividing one. The frame includes a green pedestrian bridge leading to the design site to establish a connection with the green corridors of the surrounding areas.
The transformation of the design area will also contribute to a better connection of green structures with the Beirut waterfront. This increases the attractiveness for all users.
4. Transport infrastructure
Removing barriers and untangling knots is the main task for the connectivity of the design area with the surrounding areas. Large traffic flows separate the area from its surroundings.
The access road from the southern part is carried out through the main highway of Beirut M51, it is a high-speed highway in 10 lanes with 3 interchanges at different levels.
● 1 interchange will connect the city center with the embankment of the whole of Lebanon, going to the Syrian direction. From it, trucks enter the port territory, and from the west, they enter a 2-lane street of local significance passing through the entire design site and connecting with a street of district significance. The interchange is located at a height of 5 m from ground level.
● The 2nd interchange connects the entire Beirut embankment into a single transport ring, it is from this interchange that the main entrance to the design site will be carried out in the form of a 4-lane street of district significance. It is located at ground level.
● 3 the interchange connects part of the lower highway with the upper-level highway, this is how the turn is carried out and this is how the traffic of the street of district significance will function, it will be able to enter from the M 51 highway with right-hand traffic and exit through the interchange 3
The proposed new entrances from the 1st and 2nd entrances provide a better connection of the area with the environment. Untangling this knot leads to a clearer traffic pattern, a better vehicle for buses and bicycles and more space for greenery, as well as for the addition of buildings.
The second important place is the entrance through the city center to the design site from the 1st quarter. Another place to connect the site will be the highway going from the direction of Damascus to the city center, and coming to the 1st quarter.
The type of UDS used in the project is perimeter.
5. Parking and accessibility
Parking is minimal on the street. Collective places appear. This contributes to a pleasant living environment on the street, encourages walking and cycling, ensures careful use of space (parking by employees during the day, for example, by residents in the evening), facilitates the sharing of mobility and allows you to connect energy.
Parking lots will become part of collective facilities that will be placed together in "hubs". These hubs provide mobility, energy and many other services used by companies, residents and visitors. They form important links in the realization of the region's ambitions in the field of sustainable development.
6. Materials
New materials must be produced in compliance with the principles of sustainable development, serve for a long time (including protection from climatic influences) and be suitable for reuse.
In addition, the goal is to reuse existing materials left over from the explosion at the port for paving in the area.
7. The district produces and uses renewable energy
In order to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions, each project strives for energy neutrality both at the implementation stage and at the operational stage. This means that the energy consumed is generated in the project is renewable.
8. Memorial area- elevator
The project proposal is to preserve and transform the silo into a memorial area with a public function.
A diverse complex urban space will be organized in the elevator. Architectural solutions for the reconstruction of the elevator retain engineering and design features:1 the destroyed outer cylinders will be recreated anew, but from other light and translucent materials, it will resemble what this facade was before the tragedy, being a ghost of the tragic past.
An arcade will be made in the first row of columns to connect the memorial area and the elevator, also for climatic convenience. The arcade will stand in the water surface located near the foot of the elevator, thereby creating a natural cooling in the body of the silo itself.
The 2nd row is preserved as another reminder of the tragedy, but already more tangible.
3 row is completely restored and preserved in its original form
9. Monument to the victims of the explosion in Beirut.
The full force of the catastrophe is embodied in the crater at the site of the explosion. The explosion point will be equipped with a backlight, 4 piers going under water will be reduced to it.

Technical information

Territory balance:
- area within the design boundaries = 213 ha (100%)
- port area = 125.5 ha (59%)
- residential area = 87.5 ha (41%)
- residential area = 40.96 ha (47% of the residential area, 33% of the entire territory)
- the area of public housing blocks + squares+ public parks = 34.4 ha (39.1%)
- the area of the UDS residential area =12.13ha (13.9% of the residential area)
- the area of the UDS of the entire territory = 22.3 hectares (10.5% of the entire territory)
-The total area of the green area = 60.6 hectares (28.4% of the total area, 68% of the residential area)
TEP:
- total area of buildings = 45.9 hectares
of them
- total area of residential buildings = 16.8ha
- total area of public buildings = 6.3 ha
-total area of the port development = 22.8ha

1.Constructive solutions for generating electricity from
alternative sources – Trees
Each of the trees performs many functions:
Some of them are equipped with solar panels that collect solar energy to generate electricity for the park.
Some trees collect rainwater for watering plants
Some serve as air intake and exhaust towers, regulating the temperature and humidity in the park.
In addition to collecting and dissipating heat, large tree crowns provide visitors with shade from the sun.
This set of functions and technologies can help achieve at least 30 percent energy savings compared to traditional cooling technologies. This project is not only attractive to tourists and locals, but also shows how creative and sustainable design can have a positive impact on the urban landscape.
The trees are made of metal reinforcement and concrete, and the artificial trunk is covered with live plants. Their height ranges from 6 to 20 meters.