Over the past two decades, architectural heritage in Beirut has been under constant threat; not only of gentrification, but also of neglect, abandonment, corruption, and of archaic building laws and regulation. Against all odds, till August 4, the streets of Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael offered respite in the form of traditional Lebanese architecture that was still being celebrated and inhabited.
The Beirut Port blast has further crippled an endangered and shattered old city fabric, leaving it to the mercy of real estate developers. Within days of the devastating blast, there were reports of developers beginning to sweep the city, counting on the inhabitants’ desperation to leave the area, sell their properties and finally give way to glass and steel structures that would hold no bearing to what came before them.
When compared to other parts of the world, issue of heritage faced by Lebanon is disproportionately compounded by an essential lack of urban and political vision for the city. Localised as this situation may be, it serves as an eye-opener for architects, designers, developers and property-owners globally; the road to the future runs through a reclamation of our fading remnants and incorporating them meaningfully into new forms of social and urban living.
The new world doesn’t need just another new building, it needs development that can be truly sustained. We have to build a new solid foundations on which our cities can re-emerge and return to recite an heirloom of tales.
Lens with the backdrop of the impact the Beirut blast has had on city's architectural heritage, the architect presents a photo-essay, as part of the exhibition's digital exclusives broadcast on Downtown Design's Instagram @downtowndesignd.
To find out more about Carl Gerges, click here.