The Pilot Project: Beirut and its Port

Located in the heart of the city, the port of Beirut has always been designed to be open to the city. The port-city relationship has evolved over the years, going from a Phoenician village with a small coastal shipping port, to a strategic port for the Ottoman city founded in Beirut. After the capitalist movement, the port was privatized and disconnected from the city, working as a private entity under the supervision of the government and obstructing the city's access to the sea. After the explosion of the port of Beirut in August 2020, the question of recovering the port-city relationship is once again discussed as part of a global vision for the reconstruction of the port. The pilot project consists of recovering the port-city relationship through an urban regeneration approach. The work will include intervening in the territory of the port area and studying the problems presented by this area and the different interfaces between the port and the city. The ambition is to propose a strategy that can ensure a connection between the port and the city, through an urban design proposal, and lead to the creation of a new image of the waterfront of the port area.