Public Strip(ped)
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The studio’s aim was to intervene in the city and design a public space within the urban context of Beirut. We were given the choice between a number of sites and my selection was Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut.
The start of the semester coincided with the assassination of PM Hariri and the events that followed. The public and international uproar that followed was the largest the country had seen in decades. The power of the people took the streets and Martyrs’ Square became the public arena of its manifestation. Given these circumstances and later the findings from the site analysis, the higher goal was to learn how architecture can become a mediator in the formation of collective identity. The site analysis phase of the project was a very essential part of the process. In order to intervene on a site that was in the crux of a political uproar, it was essential to become thoroughly acquainted with its past and present on all levels, political, economic, social etc... Researching the history of the square from the times of Fakhreddine onwards only proved that the square has always been in the middle of most if not all major events in Lebanon and the region. From its strategic location in the center of Beirut, to its role in all the historic and recent events that had been crucial in the formation and transformation of the region, the square came to have multiple personalities in the minds, hearts and perceptions of people. The research and collection of facts soon started to be mixed with the personal memories, stories and opinions. People differed from what they call the square (Martyrs’, Burj, Freedom...) to how they identify it, with what even they correlate it, what person, cause etc... Consequently, the method of representing the analysis became and delicately complex narrative and was presented as a matrix of variable read along a temporal axis. The outcome of the research was a weave of facts, figures, memories and narratives that allows the reader to generate a personal reading and a subjective understanding. The history in itself becomes a public domain that allows to each his own manifestation. Given the findings of the first research phase, my approach to the intervention was to do so quietly and seamlessly. The plan was to intervene in such a way that would not impose on the site anything that would categorize as belonging to one specific time or event or era, not to force it to adhere to a certain cause or person. The intention was to allow the site’s richness and the site’s own weight and role to impose that sense of being a public arena and a platform for expression and uproar. Consequently the intervention manifested in a form of a tabula rasa, or a blank page that would allow anyone to make of the square what they wanted it to be and the square allowing for anyone to express what they want to be. The square thus becomes a platform or stage for expression, debate, performance, reflection etc… detached from any specific event, cause, time etc.. But at the same time, it is part of every event, cause, time etc… It is beyond being abused or exploited by one party or person, it is above being pigeon holed, or adopted by one entity or time. It’s presence is overwhelming yet inviting and empowering. It is a blank page for every new person who wishes to mark it, but it hold endless pages of history and wealth. It becomes literally public stripped. |