Potential of Rehabilitating Benghazi Historical Buildings - Challenges and Strategies

Preservation of the urban context and heritage buildings is crucial for conserving the cultural identity of a city and preserving its architectural heritage, which forms its urban character and memory. In Benghazi, numerous buildings of historical, heritage, and architectural value define its identity and require preservation, revitalization, and protection by conserving all their distinguished architectural and urban elements and utilizing these elements to their full potential. Heritage preservation also necessitates maintaining the overall character, which means preserving these buildings within their neighboring urban contexts. Today, historical and heritage buildings form a significant part of Benghazi's memory and urban fabric. However, the current state of this heritage has suffered from neglect and destruction. Among the important landmarks in Benghazi that still hold potential for rehabilitation and utilization and play important roles in the mental image of the city are the Qeshla Building (Al-Baraka Palace), Al-Manar Palace, and Benghazi Municipality Building. The Qeshla Building is a prominent historical landmark in the city and is known for its grandeur. Al-Manar Palace, with its architectural significance dating back to the Italian period, also holds high sentimental value among the city's residents. The Benghazi Municipality Building from the Ottoman period is a historical landmark in the main square of the old city. This study focuses on the challenges faced by heritage buildings in historical cities by documenting the components of these architectural and urban landmarks. Furthermore, a general framework was developed for the systematic rehabilitation of these buildings by studying their current situation, conducting field surveys, identifying their potential, and establishing strategies that govern their revitalization. This study concludes that protecting Benghazi's architectural heritage is essential, as these landmarks shape the urban identity of the city and constitute a significant part of its cultural and social heritage. This emphasizes the importance of developing plans that help preserve and rehabilitate these buildings and reuse them with adaptive functions to achieve cultural, economic, and social benefits for the community.