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The Reconstruction Of Haret Hriek: Design Options For Improving The Livability Of The Neighborhood / إعادة إعمار حارة حريك, Mona Fawaz, Marwan Ghandour Jul 2019

The Reconstruction Of Haret Hriek: Design Options For Improving The Livability Of The Neighborhood / إعادة إعمار حارة حريك, Mona Fawaz, Marwan Ghandour

Marwan Ghandour

The residential and commercial fabric of the southern suburbs of Beirut was severely damaged by the Israeli war on Lebanon in July and August of 2006. Most of the destruction in Beirut was concentrated within the municipal district of Haret Hreik where about 265 residential, commercial, and office buildings were razed to the ground or severely damaged. The municipality reported that 3,119 housing units and 1,610 commercial units (stores and offices) were completely demolished. In total , at least 20,000 residents of Haret Hreik lost their homes.

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Spatial Erasure: Reconstruction Projects In Beirut, Marwan Ghandour, Mona Fawaz Jul 2019

Spatial Erasure: Reconstruction Projects In Beirut, Marwan Ghandour, Mona Fawaz

Marwan Ghandour

Often associated with processes of healing, postwar re-construction projects may be less related to the pre-destruction phase than to the actual act of destruction. This, at least, is what the Lebanese case suggests. In this essay, we argue that the spatial erasure initiated by war destruction is consolidated during postwar reconstruction. We developed this argument by analyzing two of the main postwar reconstruction projects that have marked Beirut’s urbanization since the end of its civil war in 1990. The first project, the reconstruction of Beirut’s downtown, was undertaken starting 1994 by a private real-estate company, Solidere [1], extends over …

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The Multiple Limas: Urban Design At The Periphery, Marwan Ghandour Dec 2016