In this article, we continue our series on Competitions.archi, presenting a collection of articles on different architectural competitions. Today, we will be featuring the winner of the Beirut Port: An Urban Life Generato.
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We are a team of 7 students: Sergio Zgheib, Peter Aoun, Lea Lahoud, Rita Abi Zeid, Julien Mikhael, Nour Kreidy, and Thea Bechara. We are 2nd year Architecture Masters students at the Lebanese University – Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture (Furn El Chebbak- Beirut). During the first semester of our Master’s year we were asked to form a group in order to work on the reconstruction of Beirut Port that was damaged by the explosion, within the framework of the architecture, urban planning and landscape studios. We were then encouraged to participate in the Inspireli competition and we made sure that our team could combine all the necessary skills to provide a consistent project that would reflect a diversity of ideas and values. The strength of our team undoubtedly resided in the fact that through all the phases of our work, we remained motivated and kept supporting each other to bring out the best in ourselves.
Since the beginning, we set a goal to propose to our country a project that is not only conceptual, visually nice, or just theoretical, but a project which is achievable and concrete. We aimed to revive the port and bring life to the port itself and the region around it through various strategies. What motivated us further is setting aside all the hardships our country and university are going through, and believing that we can bring light to our port and a sense of hope to our people.
B Analysis
Beirut City – Lebanon’s Capital
Beirut, the capital of Lebanon containing the chief port, is located on the Mediterranean coast at the base of the Lebanese Mountains. Primarily settled by the Phoenicians, Beirut gained prominence under the Roman Rule in early years. Later, it was dominated by the Mamluk Dynasty, Crusaders, Ottoman Empire, and finally the French Mandate, before it gained its independence in 1943.
Beirut served as a banking hub and main cultural centre of the Middle East, but was ravaged during the Lebanese Civil War in 1975-1990. Afterwards, the city slowly began to rebuild, but still faced some unrest in the following years. Today, the city benefits from the presence of diverse architecture styles and landmarks built over the years.
In 2020, a massive explosion severely damaged Lebanon’s capital Beirut, killing hundreds of people, injuring thousands, and causing considerable physical damage in the neighbouring regions of Beirut. The grain silos, built in 1968, situated at the point of the explosion, stands as a symbol, representing the image of a city aggrieved by the explosion but still standing strong in the face of hardships.
Beirut Port
Ports are commonly identified as communication nodes between land and maritime networks having a strong influence on the spatial organisation of bordering regions as well as the local economy of the city.
The Port of Beirut has always been the dominant maritime gateway into Lebanon. Being the main seaport in Lebanon, its location makes it one of the most important and busiest ports in the region, and connects it to neighbouring countries in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as other continents. However, despite its commercial importance, the port of Beirut has been disconnected from the city for several years, and remains until today, inaccessible by the public. Moreover, the enormous explosion that ripped through Lebanon’s capital on the 4th of August 2020 left deep socio-economic damage as well as physical devastation. The challenge today is not only to reinstate the port’s functionality, but to restore the life encompassing it.
Design Process
Our design process started by analysing the long-standing relation between the port’s expansion and the events that shaped the current landscape in Beirut city. It seemed vital for us to carefully study the port’s area and its surrounding regions. At present, three main regions exist around the port: Downtown Beirut labelled as the country’s economic, commercial and administrative centre, Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael familiar for being the city’s cultural and entertainment centre and Karantina classified as an industrial low-income residential area. After multiple site visits and research, we were able to detect a social and urban fragmentation within the same city, reflected at the level of the urban fabric and the landscape.
With the aim of getting to the root of this segregation, we initiated our approach on the macro-scale by evaluating the port-city interface. Effectively, the port-city interface is the filtering line of demarcation between the port-owned land and urban land uses, reflecting the interactive environmental, economic and social system. One of our main concerns was that Beirut, a coastal city, doesn’t have any direct relation with the sea, making it inaccessible despite its proximity. The city is therefore isolated from its initial natural context due to multiple visual and physical factors separating the port, and consequently the sea, from the city. This lack of porosity is presented through both weak and strong break points that we were able to identify after multiple observations and studies, as well as oral and documented history. The most noticeable barrier is the Charles Helou highway that lacks pedestrian crossings with the nearest bridge over 500m to the east and none to the west. Additionally, the Charles Helou bus station, being a non-functional infrastructure in the heart of the city, accentuates the visual and physical separation. We also noticed a staggering topographic break that separates the Medawar zone from the port and a clear gentrification that disrupts the connection with the port.
On the micro-scale, we analysed the current state and the public-industrial ratios in the port. It is important to note that the port of Beirut handles 82% of Lebanon’s imports and exports and controls over 98% of all containers handled at Lebanese ports. All quays and basins are mostly occupied by industrial and commercial activities, leaving no place for public functions. Consequently, the waterfront can no longer be accessible by the public, leaving prime lands not invested to their full economic potential.
The study of pertinent cases of waterfront redevelopment projects around the world allowed us to establish the basis of our rehabilitation strategy. To elaborate, tourist and cultural attractions were invited to the port of Genoa, aiming to revitalise the waterfront, merge the economic fabric, and create a centre of interest for all users. As a result, these strategies gave the city access to the water and encouraged the use of public spaces.
Moreover, the Port of Spain, similar to the case of Beirut Port, showcased an exemplary intervention where focal points restored the links between the historic centre of the city and the waterfront, reconnecting the city with its port. These strategies, implemented as specific points between the active port and the city, improved the efficiency of the existing infrastructure within the limits. Accordingly, revitalising the waterfront could offer an opportunity to improve the dimensions of the port city interface and transform the port into an urban connector.
C Project Idea
“Beirut Port: An Urban Life Generator”, is a project that aims not only to regain the functioning of the industrial part of the port, but also to transform it into an international landmark through different strategies. The aim of our project is to convert Beirut Port from an industrial barrier to an urban connector.
The design approach began by studying connections with nonfunctional landmarks around the port, limited ship circulation, a new axis from EDL, the visual permeability, the new industrial ratios in the port, and the port functional trilogy from public to industrial
Strategies
- EDL Axis
Standing in the heart of Mar Mikhaël in Beirut, overlooking the sea and the coastal highway, Electricité du Liban also known as EDL, is a remarkable work of early modern architecture that was severely damaged by the Beirut port blast.
In order to revive this iconic building, we tried to revitalise its initial plan by restoring its old platforms, bringing back the public space designed in the original concept on the ground floor, and maintaining dialogue of EDL building with the silos and the rest of the port. A tunnel is created from EDL, under the high-speed Charles Helou Highway reaching to the port, through a magnificent axis that brings the visitor towards the sea and the Silos Memorial.
- Mar Mikhael Train Station
Another important symbol of the city was the Mar Mikhael Train Station that we turned into a public zone: delimiting walls were removed and soft circulation on the fast highway was implemented in the urban fabric to reconnect the region with the port balcony and Karantina neighbourhood (which shall be transformed from a ruptured area into an economic district).
- Charles Helou Bus Station
The station, which at this moment is closed and nonfunctional, is partially given back its original function. Physical barriers are removed and spaces are opened up. Circulation elements include stairs and ramps within the station, facilitating pedestrian access from Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael to the port.
What is interesting here is that after studying the port and its surroundings, with the rich history and different building typologies and landscapes, we were able to derive how these layers function together, laying our hands on the key landmarks that we used to implement our connectivity strategies. These structures, which were initially erected due to their position next to the port, and which were meant to serve the public, represent a heritage and architectural importance that must be saved to preserve Beirut’s identity. We aimed to maintain continuity in the transition and stitching of the now separated regions Karantina, Mar Mikhael, Gemmayze, and the city centre of Beirut.
Functions & Connectivity
What we concentrated on was the rationality of the design, and that it can actually be perceived as a basis for an executable project. For instance, the space and function distributions in the port are restudied and managed in our proposal, creating a public zone in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd queue, and an industrial zone with modern high tech systems in the 4th queue (current cranes zone).
Visitor attraction functions like an Opera House and a Cultural Centre maintain a dialogue with Martyrs’ Square and serve as a principal entrance on the lower level from Beirut Central District.
On the EDl axis mentioned previously, docks open up towards the sea, leading us to several monuments, such as the silos which are transformed into a Memorial that links back to the tragedy of the explosion, housing a Museum for the History of Beirut to recall what is being vanished and untold about the city. The new water channel path also includes other functions such as a Maritime Museum , the Modern Arts Exhibition Complex and an extension of the Urban Balcony.
Topographic differences in the port/city interface are studied and exploited in such a way to allow proper integration of various functions such as a Metro Station, Convention and Commercial Centres, parkings, and waterfront promenades. The choice of these functions comes from the study conducted on the strategic locations of the port and the old train station, and the creation of a Cruise Terminal that acts as a transition between the public zone and the commercial harbour. This helps to restore public maritime access to Beirut while generating further economic gain. Also, visitors coming from cruise ships have the possibility to reach out to any location in the country and vice versa through the metro.
Last, facing Charles Helou Bus Station is a new Mixed-Use Residential Complex with a souks and a waterfront promenade at the very end line near the sea.
As for the industrial zone, we incorporated various modern technologies such as high bay storage systems, drone controls, automated vehicles, etc. Instead of enlarging the commercial portion of the port, spaces are rearranged and equipped to function with maximum efficiency, solving the problem of wasted areas while following a sustainable and self-sufficient design. The high bay storage is in fact entirely covered by solar panels to ensure the supply of electricity needed for the port to operate. Water collecting vessels around the commercial basins of the port filter the water from all sorts of pollutants to store it in an underground fire water tank, helping achieve a faster response to emergencies. Smaller silos are located near the bulk terminal and new ones are added in different Lebanese ports (Saida, Jounieh etc..) for the decentralisation of wheat stocking, avoiding future shortage crisis. Moreover, a train terminal is implemented in the industrial zone to facilitate the transit of merchandise across the country, while normal vehicular circulation is regulated by different entrances and roads, some of which are only allocated to trucks. The heavy vessel and vehicular flows are filtered as we move towards the public zones, where it becomes almost non-existent.
It is important to note that not only did we work on rehabilitating the port itself, but also on its surrounding neighbourhoods such as Karantina, for better communication with the harbour and to respond to many functional needs. In line with this vision, we transformed the Karantina into an economic district creating a new function, and a new physical link with the port through an urban balcony that extends along the periphery and hosts public and commercial spaces and functions.
The circulation is studied in a way to maintain continuity of pedestrian circulation from outside the project, maintain public circulation for zones allocated to all people, and private circulation for industrial functions.
Conclusion
The blast and total destruction have given us a chance to build anew, and respond to many problems the city has been suffering from for more than 20 years. Thinking of long-term solutions is necessary and vital in planning such a project – one that does not only benefit the region but the whole country. The concept of integrating public functions in the port is now a reachable idea, especially when we come to understand that the port is part of the city, and the city breathes through its port.
Our advice to everyone reading this article is that no matter how challenging the situation you are passing through is, always put the goal of achieving the best you can in front of you. We as a group had a rather rough and challenging year with the situation in Lebanon reaching its peak stages, but we wanted to make a change right where we were. We wanted to dream and propose to our country a project that will help raise the port from its ashes and see some light. We as students are able to make a change, and we validate that we have so much potential to show out. That can’t be completed without clear planning to make things work smoothly, especially when conducting work with 7 people. Coordinating the strengths of each person is essential in task management, and proper communication is the primary tool to achieve success.
Author: Sergio Zgheib, Peter Aoun, Lea Lahoud, Rita Abi Zeid, Julien Mikhael, Nour Kreidy, Thea Bechara from Lebanon
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