Architecture as a Mediator between People and Space - Mar Mikhael Village 2.0

Abstract

On August 4th, a warehouse at the Beirut Port exploded, causing widespread damages. In the districts surrounding the port, dozens of buildings are fully evacuated. These neighbourhoods embody extensive layers of lived socio-spatial experiences that unfold in many shared spaces and are a major constituent of the intangible cultural heritage. In the aftermath of the blast, they endure dangers of spatial erasure of memory and disruptions to everyday practices because people are not put at the centre of urban policy. The city has to be rebuilt; but rebuilding is the lingo for real estate vultures who couldn’t care less about the neighbourhoods, their people, their character. So how can a developer, an architect along with the community engage together? What if these forces work together to achieve an equilibrium? What could be a strategy for future cooperation? The project is an ecosystem in which different actors can play their role and target a new clientele for social justice, targeting a mixed social income residential project to reconcile the social space.