International competition, shortlisted scheme, 2nd prize.

The intention was to create a new urban landscape that would lend itself to different modes, functions and lives while bridging Beirut’s East and West. Structured and unstructured events needed to find their expression within this site of intense urban memory and extraordinary potential. The project works as a forum for a new society, a gateway to and from the Mediterranean, and a bridge between the past and the future. It revives the cultural heart of Beirut, catalyzes a rethink of its traffic model, and combines the memorial functions for a true postwar revival.

All these dimensions are addressed in a self-financing development model that makes this project a viable and sustainable solution. 

nabil gholam architects, VVD and VDLA