Beirut Pulse

Project idea

Places containing memory possess the quality of making people feel intimate with them. Therefore, when aiming toward designing these spaces, the most important point to consider is the human dimension both physically and culturally, in relation to all the senses and perception qualities.

This applies specifically to the destruction of buildings that hold so countless memories, causing instantly the destruction of a person's belonging to a place. The intimate quality of a place is not only due to the perception of its climate and geography but also due to the imagination.
Therefore, existing buildings allow people to keep these memories alive and to relate them to things. It is important to avoid situations of abandonment and negligence to ward off the loss of a sense of place. Therefore, before any intervention on the material of the Port of Beirut, giving meaning to the buildings and spaces should be prioritized so as to give the buildings back their soul while keeping the meaning of what was lost and destroyed during the tragedy of August 4.

Project description

The port is divided into three main categories or zones, which are: commercial / residential, touristic / cultural / administrative, and the port itself. The residential and commercial zone is on the far left of the urban design due to the neighboring context that will enrich it, and enhance the calmness and views of such buildings. The middle part of the urban context is divided into touristic and cultural areas that consist of memorials and landmarks, while the administrative areas consist of zones related to the office work of the port and terminal. The idea of this particular category is to have it connected to the other two categories that are interrelated to one another. In the last category being the functioning side of the port is on the far right side in order to have privacy and connectivity to the sea and industrial areas such as Karantina.

All these categories were studied to tell a storyline that is connected all together, that is related all together, and that relies on each component like arteries and threads of the heart having the main point pumping life to the entire urban fabric.

Technical information

Architecture is a sequence of memories; it is the work and creation of different generations that marked the world with their special capacity. They are the ones that can decide whether or not a building is significant and should be restored. With that being said, the new space should hold value not only internally but externally, by connecting the urban fabric together with the site to form the center of Beirut that feeds on the threads of the city, enabling both contexts to enrich themselves with each other. The REVIVAL of the city is the main goal of the project to bring back Beirut to being the Switzerland of the Middle East making it the soul heart of its surroundings.

This will be interpreted by having zones in the urban of the Port of Beirut that will have meaning and sense to each zone in its own way. Creative industries in the form of innovation, exchange of knowledge, competencies as well as a physical environment that people can make use of as communities to connect together. The educational and historical walkthrough focused on the exploration of the old port and touristic zones. The business will create benefits to the economy and the country that can target different sectors in Lebanon to enrich and help through the economical crisis that the country is going through.