BAY-RUT: A Living Port-City

Beirut Arab University, Faculty of Architecture, Debbieh

Project idea

"BAY:RUT: A Living City-Port"- a proposal for the port of which tries to re-establish a dialogue between the city and the port, it tries to link Beirut's ring-shaped urban fabric (Ring Shaped road-network) back to a local attractor represented by the port and its public amenities, thus trying to mend the chaos present from its urban sprawl back to order, and re-define the understanding of the port to a broader term related to the city in it's educational, economical, as well as its public involvement.

Project description

The proposal approaches the port as a vital element of the city, of which it has been disregarded. This has left the port in a state of isolation from the city and its residents. Through implementation of a circular pattern that stitches and mends the waterfront profile with the city, it creates a public space that overlooks the port, and creates a visual memory in the minds of its users, thus ultimately re-connecting it back to the city, without disregarding the importance of the site of explosion and the silos which is an important part of the city, and port's history.

Technical information

The proposal strives to maintain the overall image of the port's waterfront, respecting its history in the country, and region. It as well focuses on the event of the August 4th explosion, where it is taken into consideration with every design approach, the circular shape produce is only a result of the explosion of the site, the circulation on the circle's circumference leads to an angle which overlook the site of explosion, where many victims of the explosion have met there fates, the touristic tower at the end as well reaches the height of the explosion, where a Lebanese flag is raised resembling the Phoenix Beirut is.