past present preserved rest recalling cultural identity from the in-between
pastpresent
preserved rest
recalling cultural identity
from the in-between
Designer
Karine Sarkissian
Institution
Marylan Institute College
of Art
Department
Environmental Design
Thesis project
Academic year 2012-13
Compilation of information,
research, and
thoughts in response
to a thesis study.
Morphosison urban
planning
case studies:
1. empty lots: transforming space in brazil p. 55
2. moments of pause: melbourne laneways p. 56
3. tacticle urbanism p. 57
4. re-purposed allyways p. 66
contents:
p. 05
Abstractp. 07
Initial Investigation
p. 63
On-site Observations
p. 71
Design Outcome
p. 87
Hayy Designs
p. 99
Thesis Statement
04
05
ABSTRACT
For a city to stay the same, it needs to change.
Cities around the world constantly change over time. In effect,
most evolve in response to the times, the surroundings, and
socioeconomic as well as political situations.
The urban morphology of Beirut however, takes on an extra
element which dictates the city it has become. The fifteen-year
civil war is a prominent element that has made its mark.
The amnesiac development of cities, such as Beirut, affected by
war and their connections to memory and the urban footprint is
the basis of my thesis investigation.
7
INITIAL INVESTIGATIONBEIRUT
08
MAPS
figure 01 : lebanon and its surrounding
turkey
syria
egypt
iraq
jordan
saudi arabia
israel
cyprus
figure 02 : map of lebanon
L o c a t i o n : M i d d l e E a s t , b o r d e r i n g t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a , b e t w e e n I s r a e l a n d S y r i a
A r e a : 1 0 , 4 0 0 s q k m ( a b o u t 0 . 7 t i m e s t h e s i z e o f C o n n e c t i c u t )
C o a s t l i n e : 2 2 5 k m
C l i m a t e : M e d i t e r r a n e a n ; m i l d t o c o o l , w e t w i n t e r s w i t h h o t , d r y s u m m e r s ; L e b a -n o n m o u n t a i n s e x p e r i -e n c e h e a v y w i n t e r s n o w s
P o p u l a t i o n : 4 , 1 4 0 , 2 8 9 ( J u l y 2 0 1 2 e s t . )
D e m o g r a p h i c s : A r a b 9 5 % , A r m e n i a n 4 % , o t h e r 1 %
L a n g u a g e s : A r a b i c ( o f f i c i a l ) , F r e n c h , E n g l i s h , A r m e n i a n
R e l i g i o n s : 1 7 r e l i g i o u s s e c t s r e c o g n i z e d
5 9 % M u s l i m ( S h i a h a n d S u n n i ) , 3 9 % C h r i s t i a n ( M a r o n i t e , C a t h o l i c , O r t h o d o x ) , 2 % o t h e r ( i n c l u d i n g D r u z e )
09
C a p i t a l : B e i r u t
G o v e r n m e n t : R e p u b l i c
I n d e p e n d e n c e : 2 2 N o v e m b e r 1 9 4 3 ( f r o m L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s m a n d a t e u n d e r F r e n c h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n )
L e b a n o n w a s u n d e r F r e n c h M a n d a t e ( a f t e r W W I , a f t e r t h e f a l l o f t h e O t t o m a n E m p i r e ) . A f t e r b e i n g g r a n t e d I n d e p e n -d e n c e , t h e c o u n t r y w e n t t h r o u g h a 1 5 y e a r c i v i l w a r.
C o n f l i c t i s s t i l l q u i t e p r o m i n e n t i n t h e r e g i o n .
G o v e r n m e n t c o n s t i t u t i o n:P r e s i d e n t : C h r i s t i a n M a r o n i t e
P r i m e M i n i s t e r : M u s l i m S u n n i
H e a d o f C a b i n e t : M u s l i m S h i a h
S e a t s w i t h i n t h e C a b i n e t a r e b a s e d o n a c e n s u s c o n d u c t e d a f t e r t h e I n d e -p e n d e n c e
E c o n o m y :L e b a n o n h a s a f r e e -m a r k e t e c o n o m y a n d a s t r o n g l a i s s e z - f a i r e c o m -m e r c i a l t r a d i t i o n .
H o w e v e r, c o r r u p t i o n i s e v i d e n t i n d e c i s i o n s t a k e n .
URBANISM IN BEIRUT
Patterns within a city are based on location and strategy.
Additionally, social, environmental, and political conditions all play a vital role
in its development and current state.
URBAN MASTERPLANS:
Several urban plans of Beirut were drawn up by international designers, however
many of them were dismissed due to the corrupted form of government
in Lebanon.
1952: 1st official masterplan for the city was adopted. However, the expansion
of the city was not taken into consideration. Roads became too narrow for the
traffic volume.
Each neighborhood eventually began to plan and design their own space.
10
GROWTH IN HISTORY
figure 03 : urban development of beirut
h t t p : / / w w w. s t u d i o - b a s e l . c o m / p r o j e c t s / b e i r u t / d a m a s c u s / a t l a s / c i t y - m a p - b e i r u t - a n d - d a m a s c u s . h t m l
h t t p : / / w w w. s t u d i o - b a s e l . c o m / p r o j e c t s / b e i r u t / d a m a s c u s / a t l a s / c i t y - m a p - b e i r u t - a n d - d a m a s c u s . h t m l
BEIRUT, URBAN GRAIN
figure 04 : beirut, arabic versus french planning
11
12
CITY CENTER: HISTORY AND FUTURE
figure 05 : beirut’s structure and the solidere plan
h t t p : / / w w w. s t u d i o - b a s e l . c o m / p r o j e c t s / b e i r u t / d a m a s c u s / a t l a s / c i t y - m a p - b e i r u t - a n d - d a m a s c u s . h t m l
13
CONFLICT AND DESIGN
Lebanon has been affected by a fifteen-year civil war. Spatial and temporal
elements have presented themselves onto the development of the city.
The approach and re-adaptation of spaces affected by conflict differ. Officials
and designers have opposing opinions on how areas should be rehabilitated.
Presented with physical, political, and economic realities of such context,
decision makers often opt for the easy erasure of the traces of conflict, while
designers often opt for a fetishism of the same traces.
Morphologies are identified and recognized through new equivalence between
mass, void, and organism.
As a result, Identity blurs with memory.
14
civil war (1975 - 1990)
devastating political unrest led to a destructed and
divided Beirut.
Some buildings still retain marks of conflict.
neighborhood life impacted by traffic and unplanned, crowd-ed building scape. Buildings are often in bad shape and electric lines run across and over the streets.
solidere Urban initiative within Beirut; it aims to rebuild the city with the
image of the past
HISTORY AND IDENTITY
15
martyr’s square
part of the Solidere develop-ments. This statue at the center of this square reminds the Lebanese of their solidarity.
religious buildings include churches and mosques places right next to one another
mountains
directly facing the sea have become covered with build-ings and construction sites.
mediteranean sea long coast-line of 225km
figure 06 : beirut’s history and identity
16
CONFLICT AND DESIGN AND MEMORY
E l H a y y : A n e x i s t i n g c o n c e p t f u r t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t b y Ay s a r A r i d a , a p h y s i c i s t a n d u r b a n i s t i n h i s w r i t -i n g Q u a n t u m C i t y.
There are 3 types of memory that built form embodies.
1. Subjective memory: related to meaning
(connect to each individual sense of personal and group identity)
2. Collective memory: preceding civilizations (or ancestors)
3. Recorded memory: memory of the knowledge and worldview of those
who built and lived.
Investigations and solutions will further entail a maintenance of traumatic
form and celebration of war damage - through the concept of ‘hayy’ the typical
‘quartier’ neighborhood life between buildings that once existed.
figure 07 : neighborhood structure/study
17
MIND MAP- RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
Beirut
Today
Civil War(1975-90)
FrenchMandate
MixedDemographics
Druze Christian Muslim
Maronite Orthodox Sunni Shiah
ExternalControl
Independence1943
Urbanization
Beforeand during
the war Lack of planning
Old Neighborhoods
What used to be there
CulturalTrail (Solidere)
Referencepoints
Ras Beirut Secular
18
URBAN TYPOLOGY
R a s B e i r u t :T h i s n e i g h b o r h o o d r e m a i n s a s o n e o f t h e o n l y s e c u l a r r e g i o n s o f B e i r u t .
T h i s r e g i o n h a s l a r g e l y b e n e f i t e d f r o m t h e A m e r -i c a n U n i v e r s i t y o f B e i r u t , a l o n g w i t h m a n y o t h e r i m p o r t a n t i n s t i t u t i o n s i n t h e a r e a . H a m r a a n d B l i s s s t r e e t s m a i n t a i n a u n i q u e i d e n t i t y a s i m p o r -t a n t l a n d m a r k s t r e e t s i n t h e r e g i o n .
figure 08 : urban landscape, buildings
figure 09 : urban landscape, street/nolli map
19
A r m a n , “ H o p e f o r P e a c e ”T h e s t a t u e c o n s i s t s o f s t a c k e d t a n k s p l a c e d i n a c o n c r e t e c o v e r i n g .
W h a t i s t h e t r u e v a l u e o f t h i s m o n u m e n t ?
H o w d o e s i t c o m m e m o -r a t e w h a t h a p p e n e d ?
T h e r e a r e s t i l l m a n y t a n k s a r o u n d t h e c i t y, w h a t a b o u t t h o s e ?
COMMEMORATION OF WAR
If it is impossible for the Lebanese to reach unanimous agreement over what
their war was about, nothing prevents them from remembering it in a pluralistic
way.
Almost no memorials to the conflict can be found anywhere.
Artist, Arman, has created one of the only non-territorial memorials in
Lebanon--”Hope for Peace.” The sculpture was meant to be placed downtown,
however due to the many memories related to the conflict, it was eventually
placed in the mountains in Yarze. In effect, much about the ‘memory’ is
missing. There is no collection of who passed and no real day of remembrance.
How can people build a collective memory of a conflict that was never truly
resolved?
figure 10 : “hope for peace” by arman
M i c h a e l Yo u n g , T h e D a i l y S t a r
20
POST-WAR ART IN LEBANON
T h i s a r t i c l e , “ O u t o f B e i -r u t ’ ” , w a s t a k e n f r o m t h e M o d e r n A r t O x f o r d .
ARTICLE ANALYSIS:
Contemporary Art Practises in Post War Lebanon.
By Kaelen Wilson Goldie
There has been continuous difficulty in writing and resolving the history of
Lebanon post 1943 (Lebanese Independence). In effect, people still strongly
associate to the past--postcards with old images of what used to be, are still
being sold. The appropriation of history is what it really comes down to. Seeing
as history is usually visualized on the side of the victorious - “history by the
winners”--individuals in Lebanon rather approach history in an ‘unofficial way.’
Allowing the subversive space to be governed by the anecdotal (the hidden,
what has been kept secret) is the way to approach such a history.
There is a temporal disjuncture between the past and the present. Stories
are torn between fact and fiction; between what seems as a straightforward
recollection of past events and what clearly is an interpretation of memories
performed in the present.
“Here and elsewhere; they may be true, or they may not... You see?”
“ O u t o f B e i r u t ” M o d e r n A r t , O x f o r d
21
IDENTITY AND THE NOTION OF PLACE
ARTICLE ANALYSIS:
Contemporary Art Practises in Post War Lebanon.
By Kaelen Wilson Goldie
Beirut is overwhelmed with thresholds. This concept is exhibited through East
and West; and what was or has become wastelands. In consequence, the city
of Beirut was dramatically reconstructed; buildings were torn down, plots
redrawn, patterns and areas rezoned. There has been a dramatic altering of the
layout of Beirut’s spatial environment.
“Images of past and present refuse to conform to a singular notion of place.”
There is a repeated failure to match one view with the other; as if these images
of past and present refuse to conform to a singular notion of place (let alone a
coherent collectively understood historical narrative linking one with the other.
The traumas of the civil war have lead to a failure of nationalism. The art in
Lebanon, by local artists, responds to situations through particular media:
experimental, performance, and urban interventions. The work is mostly
research based, critically engaged with sociopolitical issues related to the
representation of identity.
Furthermore, the recognition of the work is mostly international rather than
local--the local audience remains indifferent to the produced work.
“ O u t o f B e i r u t ” M o d e r n A r t , O x f o r d
T h i s a r t i c l e , “ O u t o f B e i -r u t ’ ” , w a s t a k e n f r o m t h e M o d e r n A r t O x f o r d .
22
POST-WAR ART IN LEBANON
T h i s a r t i c l e , “ O u t o f B e i -r u t ’ ” , w a s t a k e n f r o m t h e M o d e r n A r t O x f o r d .
ARTICLE ANALYSIS:
Contemporary Art Practises in Post War Lebanon.
By Kaelen Wilson Goldie
Lebanon’s perpetual identity crisis is intrinsically tied as much to internal
political combustion as is to factors determined by the country’s fixed
geopolitical location.
Relations with orientations towards the West, the Mediterranean region, Arab
states all affect its situation, and are always changing.
These effects are expressed verbally and visually, through form and content of
public discourse and public space.
One of the questions that this brings up is about public spaces and the way
these spaces are thus utilized.
The concept of public space is quite obscure in Lebanon. In effect, all
common public spaces such as streets and plazas are always supervised and
do not allow impromptu actions to occur. Surveillance for protection and
security takes over and people cannot ‘act’ as they please.
“ O u t o f B e i r u t ” M o d e r n A r t , O x f o r d
23
HAYY VERSUS HETEROTOPIAS
T h i s a r t i c l e , “ H e t e r o -t o p i a s ” w a s w r i t t e n b y M i c h e l F o u c a u l t . I t h a s b e e n t a k e n o u t f r o m ‘ O f O t h e r S p a c e s ’ ( 1 9 6 7 ) .
ARTICLE ANALYSIS:
Heterotopias
By Michel Foucault
Heterotopia is the concept of embracing the “OTHER”.
As Foucault states, “those in which individuals whose behavior is deviant in
relation to the required mean or norm are placed” are defined as heterotopias.
The concept which is exhibited in Foucault’s writing takes on the creation of a
space of illusion that exposes every ‘real space.’ The physical configuration of
heterotopias is the element that matters most.
In essence, a boat (a floating piece of space), a place without a place, that
exists by itself, that is closed in on itself and infinity of the sea is the ideal
Heterotopia.
24
MIND-MAP DESIGN OUTCOME
Trauma and Amnesia of
Civil war
remembering of suffering
spatial + temporal ele-ments
dormant + latentBeirut’s over-urbaniza-
tion
effects: social, political, economic
anomaly in the region (geopolitical)
regional vs. global
east vs.west
old vs.new
lack of national identity
laissez-faire
No real public space in Lebanon
“container vs.contained”
lack of resolu-tion with the
war
collective vs. physical
deliberate era-sure of memory
images of past and present
refuse to conform to singular notion
of place
no spaces where unpredictable can
happen
streets surveillance
irrational formplays counterform
EL-HAYY
effect of memory
no real memorial in Lebanon
to relegate the past
memorials?
network
E l H a y y c o n s i s t s o f a f o r m o f H e t e r o t o p i a . I t a c t s a s t h e ‘ o t h e r ’ t o c o m m o n p u b l i c s p a c e s . i t b e c o m e s t h e s p a c e w h e r e t h i n g s c a n h a p p e n
25
LEBANESE IDENTITIES
D r a w n a n d i n s p i r e d f r o m “ L i f e ’s L i k e T h a t ” b y M i c h a e l K a r a m , P e t e r G r i m s d i t c h a n d M a y a F i d a w i ( i l l u s t r a -t i o n s )
Right: Taxi (service) driverfigure 11
Bottom left: Shisha (Arguile) smokeron the corniche, by the water
figure 12
Bottom right: civil servantfigure 13
26
MAPPING, INVESTIGATIONS
27
figure 14 : urban landscape, buildings and streets
T h e b u i l d i n g s a r e b u i l t w h e r e v e r t h e r e i s s p a c e . N o p l a n n i n g o r z o n i n g c o d e s a p p l y i n n e i g h b o r -h o o d s a r o u n d B e i r u t . T h e s t r e e t s a p p e a r t o h a v e s o m e o r d e r, b u t a l s o w i n d a r o u n d a n d a r e f r a m e d b y t h e s u r r o u n d -i n g b u i l d i n g s .
28
HAYY SPACES
29
figure 15: streets , buildings, and ”hayy’ spaces/ nner courtyards
T h e ‘ H a y y ’ s p a c e s a r e i n -t e r n a l a n d a l m o s t h i d d e n . T h e s e s p a c e s a p p e a r a s s e m i - p r i v a t e , b u t a r e e n t i r e l y p u b l i c , a n d n o t s u r v e i l l e d . T h e i r i n t r i -c a t e s h a p e s a l l o w f r o m i n t e r e s t i n g a n d i n t r i c a t e s p a c e s .
30
HAYY SPACES AND THE STREETS
31
figure 16: hayy and streets
T h e H a y y s p a c e s a r e t h e o n e s I w i l l u n d e r t a k e a n d i m p l e m e n t d e s i g n i n . T h e y a r e t h e h e t e r o t o -p i a s t h a t a l l o w t h e v a l u e o f p u b l i c s p a c e t o e x i s t .
32
HOW PUBLIC ARE ‘PUBLIC SPACES’?
33
figure 17: public spaces, green spaces, and hayy
are public spaces truly public?
T h e ‘ o p e n ’ ( b r o w n ) a n d ‘ g r e e n ’ s p a c e s h a v e l o s t t h e i r e s s e n c e a s p u b l i c s p a c e . N o r e a l p u b l i c l i f e e x i s t s i n t h o s e s p a c e s . Wa t e r f r o n t s , w a l k - w a y s , g a r d e n s a r e a l l s u r -v e i l l e d a n d o v e r t a k e n b y a u t h o r i t i e s a n d p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s .
34
HAYY? OR PARKING SPACE?
figure 18: erasure of memory?
figure 19: garden, nature overtakes
P h o t o c o l l a g e o f a H a y y S p a c e . I t h a s l o s t i t s c h a r m a n d e s s e n c e , r e n o v a t e d i n t o a p a r k i n g l o t .
35
C a n d y C h a n g i s a n A r -c h i t e c t , U r b a n D e s i g n e r, a n d G r a p h i c d e s i g n . B y a d a p t i n g t h e v a r i o u s m a j o r s s h e h a s t a k e n o n , s h e c r e a t e d h e r o w n d i s c i p l i n e .
S h e c r e a t e s p u b l i c i n -t e r v e n t i o n s t h a t e n c o u r -a g e c o n v e r s a t i o n a m o n g p e o p l e w i t h i n t h e n e i g h -b o r h o o d , a n d t h r o u g h o u t v a r i o u s c i t i e s .
T h e s e a r e e x a m p l e s o f v a r i o u s p r o j e c t s C h a n g h a s s e t u p a r o u n d c i t -i e s . T h e y e n c o u r a g e p e o p l e t o c o n t r i b u t e a n d s t a r t c o n v e r s a t i o n s , a s w e l l a s a s k t h e m s e l v e s q u e s t i o n s . I t b e c o m e s a c o n t i n u o u s c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h t h e c i t y a n d t h e s u r -r o u n d i n g .
URBAN INTERVENTIONS BY CANDY CHANG
Candy Chang believes in transforming cities through art and design.
Cities have emotional connections and relationships to the people that inhabit
them. Re-imagining cities and the way they should be.
The essence of her work is in making cities more comfortable for people.
Moreover, comfort is within the details.
Good urban design engages people with their cities, but also with each other.
It is important to remember that one is never truly alone. In effect, there is
strength of collective wisdom in our lives and the cities we live in.
figure 22: career path
figure 20: ‘before i die”
figure 21: sidewalk psychiatry
36
VIETNAM MEMORIAL, FORMS OF REMEMBRANCE
Memorials embody forms of remembrance; they underline memory
within a culture through mode of public commemoration. In many respects,
this remembrance and public commemoration allow for the discourse
of history, the development of personal recollection and that of cultural
memory. Various forms of monuments and memorials have been created
around the world. Moreover, some take form of sculpture, landscaping, or
even architecture—they express and embody different types of events to
commemorate. The Vietnam Veteran’s memorial by Maya Lin is one, which
poignantly stands out—its unusual form and distinct post-modern style
commemorate such an event the only way possible. In conjunction, the
Lebanese Civil War deserves the same type of memorial—one that is non-
territorial, and one, which deals with an ambiguous history that requires an
urgency of remembrance.
Maya Lin’s Vietnam memorial has brought up many questions in
regards to the way, which the Vietnam War was brought to closure in the
American society. How can society commemorate a work for which its history
and happenings are still in question? How about the fact that it is still
contested? There appears to be a lack of singular and historical narratives that
define the clear-cut purpose and outcome of the war. In a sense, the Lebanese
Civil War could be characterized in the same way. There are no official non-
territorial memorials to remember the happenings of a fifteen-year civil war. In
effect, the war included many various conflicting sects and a continuous series
of events. The justification for the lack of memorial is characterized through
the many opposing narratives and unresolved outcomes. Contrarily to the
Vietnam memorial, which takes on the elements that are worth remembering,
as well as the ideology that one, shall ‘never forget’, Lebanon fails to do so.
T h e a r t i c l e ‘ T h e Wa l l , t h e S c r e e n a n d t h e I m a g e , w r i t t e n b y M a r i t a S t u r k e n , r e p r e s e n t s M a y a L i n ’s a p p r o a c h t o t h e V i e t n a m M e m o r i a l . R e s i s t i n g c e r -t a i n h e g e m o n i e s t h r o u g h m e m o r i a l s a n d a r c h i t e c -t u r e t h a t r e s p e c t s t h e e a r t h ’s o r g a n i c p r o c e s s e s a n d t h e c o n n e c t i o n s t o i t s s u r r o u n d i n g .
37
VIETNAM MEMORIAL, FORMS OF REMEMBRANCE
A memorial to the Civil War in Lebanon should sanctify future wars by
offering a complete narrative with cause and effect intact--the way that is taken
on through the Vietnam memorial. Maya Lin’s memorial allows the event and
the losses of the soldiers to be mourned. She creates a platform for people to
react to the events. The names engraved on the black stone add personality and
a reality to the monument, moving further from a simple modernist sculpture.
Its site specificity gives it a presence and purpose for where it is installed. It is
a literal site-specific piece where it makes use of the land as a material. The
V-shaped wall cuts into the earth embodying a descent into a space distant from
the ‘street level.’ By forcing the viewer to walk down allows for a procession
and a physical act to recognize the past. This memorial is “contemplative
rather than declarative.” As expressed by Krauss ‘s ‘Sculpture in the Expanded
Field’, this piece goes back and forth between architecture vs. non-architecture;
landscape vs. non-landscape; and sculpture vs. non-sculpture. Its undefined
form is largely part of its success; it does not characterize or associate itself and
thus encourages all forms of connections to the viewers. The symbolism that this
memorial draws to the Vietnam War is one that is needed in Lebanon—one that
refuses to glorify a war and a past (which is shameful), one that is pacifist, and
one that is political and emphatically anti-heroic.
“To rush to embrace the memorial as cultural symbol reveals not only
the relief of voicing a history that has been taboo, but also a desire to re-
inscribe that history” (Sturken). The Vietnam memorial becomes a symbol of
remembrance, which is itself a form of erasure. The importance of memorial,
and the need for it in areas such as Lebanon are rooted so much further than
simple physical representation. Memorials bring out a reality and draw the link
to the vague ideology that faintly remains.
38
VIETNAM MEMORIAL, FORMS OF REMEMBRANCE
Furthermore, as stated by Althusser, ‘ideology’ encourages the
connections between the imaginary relationships of individuals to their real
conditions of existence. By facing the memorial (thus history), ideology
and reality come to term in a person’s mind. In finding such link, one then
processes through fields of discourse. Moreover, power according to Foucault,
is not only coerced but also produced through discourse. It is through the
understanding of the past and its reality that empowerment can occur. To
move forward, one must deal with the past, with its reality, through personal
as well as collective discourse. “What is most human about man is his history”
(Foucault).
In conclusion, the resolution of the past and that of history
can only be achieved through the discourse of individual or collective
commemoration. Without such acceptance and closure, one cannot move
forward, and in consequence cannot deal with what once happened. Through
the acknowledgement of past occurring, including events as indistinct as
the Vietnam War or the Lebanese Civil War (with no positive and no concrete
outcome) one can only then begin to cope and respond. The embodiment
of the Vietnam War could have only been represented with a memorial such
as Lin’s. As a result, Lebanon deserves and is in need of the same type of
commemoration. A representation that respects the past without glorification,
but rather understanding and reflection of the lives that were lost and the
martyrs that are not to be forgotten. Lastly, a memorial that lies in the struggles
of narratives allowing us to remember to never forget.
39
I n o r d e r t o c r e a t e t h e i d e a l ‘ H a y y ’ s p a c e s , a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e s u r r o u n d i n g s i n e s s e n -t i a l . U n d e r s t a n d i n g w h a t i s a n d w h a t w a s t h e r e m a t t e r s , a n d s h o u l d n o t b e n e g l e c t e d w h e n c r e -a t e d t h e d e s i g n f o r t h e s p a c e s .
T h e n e t w o r k w i l l n o t o n l y c r e a t e i n t e r n a l p u b l i c s p a c e s t h a t s i m p l y c o n -n e c t t o o n e a n o t h e r, b u t a l s o w i l l i n c l u d e a n ‘ h o m -a g e ’ a n d c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e v a l u e o f t h e s p a c e .
CHARACTERIZING SPACES
figure 23: analysis and personal interpretation of spaces
40
STUDY, HAYY IDEAS AND INVESTIGATION OF HAMRA STREET
T h r o u g h t h e t h o u r o u g h i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h i s a r e a ( w h i c h i n c l u d e s H a m r a S t r e e t ) , d e v e l o p m e n t s o f ‘ H a y y ’ s p a c e s w i l l c a t e r t h e s u r r o u n d i n g s .
S u b t l e d e s i g n s a n d p u b l i c i n t e r v e n t i o n s w i l l s p e a k t o t h e a r e a s a n d b e c o m e a l m o s t s i t e s p e c i f i c ( l i t e r a l o r f u n c -t i o n a l ) .
figure 24: selected map from ras beirut
41
CONCEPT OF PUBLIC SPACES AT GEHL ARCHITECTS
Protection:
Protection against verhicular traffic
Protection against crime and violence
Protection against unpleasant sensory experiences
Comfort:
Invitation for walking
Visual Contact
Audio Verbal Contact
Invitation for stand/staying
Day/evening/night activity
Varying seasonal activity
Invitations for sitting
Play, recreation and interaction
Delight
Dimensioned at human scale
Positive Aspects of climate
Aesthetic and sensory
J a n G e h l r e m a i n s a s o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t u r -b a n p l a n n e r s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . H i s i d e a l m o d e l i s n o t o n l y c a r r i e d o n b y h i s f i r m b y h a s b e e n a d o p t e d a r o u n d t h e w o r l d i n a l l s o r t s o f p u b l i c s p a c e s .
42
CONCEPT, ADAPTATION OF SPACE
43
figure 25: hayy space collage
figure 26: concept collage
44
From a single neglected space... To an activated public space...
To a network of public spaces... with in�nite possibilities...
CONCEPT DIAGRAM, DESIGN APPROACH
45
figure 27: concept diagram, network of spaces
From a single neglected space... To an activated public space...
To a network of public spaces... with in�nite possibilities...
46
RELIGIOUS SHRINES
In continuing such conversations and conceptualizing of ideas, more elements
unique to Beirut are worth considering.
-Territorial markers are all over the city.
In one respect, many seem to be religious. Larger monumental churches and
mosque exist, but in addition, smaller unique shrines to areas are placed all
over. Important moments, accidents, and points of collision are marked with a
Mary or Joseph statue, or icon of a saint.
By marking spaces religiously, does this become a political statement?
figure 28: type of religious shrines placed around the city
47
POLITICAL MARKERS AND PROPAGANDA
Are such political/ religious markers considered propaganda?
How can one ignore the screaming messages all these signs, labels, spray
painted icons and slogans represent?
Public space becomes claimed by such elements. Religious shrines for
example create a system of ideas of economical and political theory and policy.
Ideas eventually integrate and take over imposing a way of thinking.
Specific visions are broadcast to the people, and where citizens feel the need
to belong to a political group. A Lebanese is not simply ‘Lebanese’ anymore,
but rather a Christian, Sunni, Shiah, Druze; and even further a ‘Aouni’ (support
of Aoun, A Hezbollah supporter... The list becomes infinite. The unity is
present in the people’s response to emergency situations and protection from
external offenders--and yet, internally, fragmentation overtakes.
The traditions, foods, customs are the only linking elements that connect the
Lebanese to each other.
48
TERRAIN VAGUE
Terrain vague is a concept that bridges the gap between public ‘claimed’ space
and private space. It incorporates the in-between, the inaccessible, the broken
down...
These spaces have a certain almost undescribably value where the
overwhelming curiosity of people is completely forgotten. Essentially these
spaces are the opposite of all, they are “un-territorial.”
Heterotopias? Characterized as the “Other” remains as a unique element is
that is forgotten in Lebanon.
figure 29: terrain vague on the raouche corniche, unclaimed green space
49
SEMIOLOGY AND URBANISM BY ROLAND BARTHES
Urban semiotics within the city incorporates the idea of human space and
signifying space. The way we conceive the city has become very close to the
perceiving of consciousness, a growing consciousness is associated to such
views of city scape.
In effect, we begin to use more and more a vocabulary of signification,
incorporating terms such as path, enclosure, districts, intersections, points of
reference...
Today there are more and more contradictions between signification and
phenomena. In turn, there is conflict between the functionalist and semantic
content of things where areas like Rome encounter problems between the
functional necessities of modern life and that of history.
Each city possesses a form of rhythm- there is a break between signification
and reality Some neighborhoods look the same on maps which seem
realistic and objective, and yet when given the names of the areas, a person’s
perception is completely changed, where prejudice and subjectivity play in.
City is a discourse, a “language” which speaks to its inhabitants, who in turn
speak to it. Language of the city is sensitive to a series of metaphors and
expressions.
How do we shift from metaphor to analysis when speaking of the city?
T h i s a r t i c l e “ S e m i o l o g y a n d U r b a n i s m ” w a s w r i t -t e n b y R o l a n d B a r t h e s . B a r t h e s w a s a F r e n c h c r i t i c a n d w r i t e r, a n d t h i s a r t i c l e s u r r o u n d i n g t h e v a l u e o f l a n g u a g e a n d s e m i o l o g y i s p a r t o f h i s l a t e r p o s t - s t r u c t u r a l i s m p e r i o d .
50
SENSORY DESIGN
Sensory elements matter tremendously in the design of public space.
Triggering one’s senses when entering a space is sensitive and particular to
each individual.
Peter Zumthor’s Kolumba Museum, is a unique experience where transitions
with the control of light, the perforated facade allows controlled light and
sound to come in. One is confronted with an interior space that at the same
time is consumed with exterior elements.
Such respect for the surrounding should be incorporated in my design of these
public spaces. Playing with creating opposite and contradictory experiences.
For example creating a space of silence next to Hamra street, one that is
consumed with car honks and scramming people.
figure 30: sketch of the kolumba museum, room which incorporates exterior in the interior. church ruins rest below the wooden zigzagging bridge
51
KOLUMBA MUSEUM AND SENSORY DESIGN
P e t e r Z u m t h o r ’s K o l u m b a M u s e u m w a s b u i l t i n C o l o g n e , G e r m a n y a f t e r t h e d e s t r u c t i o n s t h e c i t y f a c e d d u r i n g W W I I .
T h e m u s e u m h o u s e s t h e o l d r u i n s f r o m t h e d e -s t r o y e d C a t h o l i c c h u r c h a t t h e t i m e .
T h e p r o j e c t e m e r g e d f r o m “ I n s i d e o u t a n d f r o m t h e p l a c e ” a s s a i d b y Z u m t h o r.
figure 31: exterior perforated facade of the building
figure 32: on the second level, the space changes identity, light becomes the main element of the space. the large windows frame view points within the city.
52
CARS AND PRIVACY IN LEBANON
Lebanon is a country where a person’s privacy is almost not considered.
Everyone is always concerned with what other people think, and privacy is
always overlooked as unnecessary.
In effect, cars have a very valuable symbolic definition. Each individual owns
at least one vehicle. The overwhelming amount of cars has served each person
not only as a way to get around, but is also used as a space for privacy. One
where someone can just exist alone.
It is not uncommon to see each people sitting alone in their vehicle. It is
the one place that is inaccessible from others, where individual thought and
reflections can overtake.
Are intimate spaces and spaces of solitude necessary?
figure 33: overwhelming number of taxis in beirut
53
PROVOKING DESIGNS
The Berlin Biennial 7 (summer 2012) took on a political agenda.
Provoking works from artists throughout the world were purposely
speaking to one another and creating works that spoke of their
identity.
One particularly piece stood out, one to speak for the state of
Palestine.
Khalil Jaarar created the work “The State of Palestine.” He
encouraged people to take action and stamp their passports in
recognition of the existence of a ‘non-existing state.’
figure 34: “the state of palestine” by khalil jaarar
54
LEBANON, CONFLICT AND CHAOS
Most of the art and installations I create have always taken on social concepts
and make an imposing statement on issues I find interest in.
During May 2007, Lebanon was faced with chaos and conflict. A ‘so-called’
mini civil war erupted, and people began to fight and demonstrate against
each other. The various political implications and arousal of conflict that grew
cannot be justified simply, where the culmination of events broke out.
Collecting artifacts and recreating visions I saw on the news and around led me
to create a multi-media piece. Burning tires, sand bags to block streets, and
newspaper clippings...
This piece shows somewhat of a negative vision, is that really what I should be
concerned with? What about the network of those spaces?
figures 35-36: coup d’etat by karine sarkissian (detail on the left)
55
E m p t y L o t s : C o l l e c t i v e A c t i o n o f E x p e r i m e n t a l U r b a n O c c u p a t i o n i s a n a r t i c l e w r i t t e n b y L o u i s e M a r i e C a r d o s o G a n z .
T h e a r t i c l e i s p u b l i s h e d i n U r b a n Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n , e d i t e c b y I l k a a n d A d r e a s R u b y.
EMPTY LOTS: TRANSFORMING SPACE IN BRAZIL
Empty Lots: Collective Action of Experimental Urban Occupation. This design
project was implemented in Belo Horizonte in 2005, where empty lots were
explored and chosen by artists and architects to be transformed. These lots in
Brazil are actually privately owned and have been transformed into parking lots
for profit. The concept of these interventions is to temporarily chance these
private spaces to public ones to re-brand and re-indentify the areas. Notions of
property, environment, community, ethics and aesthetics are all incorporated.
Each area have their own special characteristics which are almost always
hidden between wall.
“By incorporating these empty lots into daily lives of the population living in
proximity, the city is inevitably redesigned.”
These new implications can change the perception of the neighborhood--
behavior change through gardens, meeting spaces, experiments through micro-
urban scale.
Creating elements such as a :Collective living room”, areas for rest, reading,
observing the stars, concerts... This sensation of freedom incorporates new
systems for the contemporary city.
figures 37-38-39: empty lot projects
left to right: typographies, movie exhibition, 100 m2 of grass
56
MOMENTS OF PAUSE
In designing the Hayy spaces, certain elements are to be remembered.
‘Moments of pause’ remains as the key driving force, for the anti-space, the
heterotopias, to come to a clean, green, and other space for relief. Playing with
sensory elements as a response to each design, as well as certain terms to take
from such as ‘dig’, ‘build’, ‘mark’ ‘elaborate/elevate’, ‘inscribe’, ‘subtract...’
The idea of the underground as a ‘freeing’ action can also be incorporated.
In conjunction, what about programming systems? Incorporating a system of
which to respond to for design. Additionally, the project could take form of a
‘kid of part’ one that embraces the reality of spaces, new ground, and multi-
level...
figures 41: melbourne laneways, a perfect example of an implemented system
57
“ U r b a n i n t e r v e n t i o n s o f a s o r t – q u i c k , o f t e n t e m -p o r a r y, c h e a p p r o j e c t s t h a t a i m t o m a k e a s m a l l p a r t o f a c i t y m o r e l i v e l y o r e n j o y a b l e . T h e s e t y p e s o f p r o j e c t s h a v e g r o w n i n p o p u l a r i t y i n r e c e n t y e a r s , a n d t h e y e v e n h a v e a n e w n a m e : t a c t i c a l u r b a n i s m , a s i n t a c t i c s u s e d t o i m p r o v e t h e u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e s e t a c t i c s t e n d t o b e r e p l i c a b l e a c r o s s c i t i e s , a n d i n c e r t a i n i n s t a n c e s h a v e b e c o m e w o r l d w i d e p h e n o m e n a . ”
TACTICAL URBANISM
Rather abrupt unplanned and DIY interventions in cities sometimes work well
as they do not necessarily oppose laws but rather work around to get points
transmitted.
h t t p : / / b e t t e r b l o c k s p h i l l y. o r g / 2 0 1 2 / 0 4 / 2 9 / t a c t i c a l - u r b a n i s m - s a l o n - p h i l l y /h t t p : / / w w w. t h e a t l a n t i c c i t i e s . c o m / n e i g h b o r h o o d s / 2 0 1 2 / 0 3 / g u i d e - t a c t i c a l - u r b a n i s m / 1 3 8 7 /
figures 42, 43 tactical urbanism in cities
58
POETICS OF MY EXPLORATIONWHY AND FOR WHOM?
I remember the day. How I remember walking along Hamra street, my mother
holding my hand and my older sister following a couple of steps behind
too busy day dreaming. Wonderful distractions seemed to occupy my mind,
distractions from the streets and my imagination created a world of its own, a
Beirut so alive and vibrant. Everyone around me had a story, the shoeshine, the
lines on his face personified his long life full of acquaintances, adventures, and
stories; the ka’ak salesman, wheeling his cart around the streets allowing the
wonderful smells of his fresh bread to overwhelm our senses… So many people
would come off the tram to spend the afternoon shopping at Red-shoe, and
stop for coffee at Modca Cafe. These distinct memories, smells, and sounds
have left imprints in my mind that I will never forget.
Walking around was always how our afternoons took off, we would go see
my aunt and cousins and play around while our parents gossiped about the
neighborhood over coffee and an arguile. My cousin Leila and I would always
go downstairs in the Hayy, it was were the life of the neighborhood really took
place. A courtyard space came about, created by the buildings that surrounded
it. It served as a playing ground where we would run around, tell each other
our stories, and get to meet our neighbors. Our parents felt safe with us being
there, they could keep an eye on us, and eventually would join us shortly after.
People of all ages, from all around would come together. There was always
something so unique, and we had even made the area homier with plants and
outdoor furniture for everyone to enjoy. Harmony and togetherness, two words
that I long for quickly disappeared with the arrival of an almost endless war.
59
WHY AND FOR WHOM?
Today, these spaces, victims of a fifteen-year war, have lost their purpose and
disappeared. They are neglected as though inexistent. Why have we destroyed
all areas we lived in? Our outdoors and public spaces are no more, and we are
lost with everything that has happened. Amnesia has taken over. What worries
me most however is that my children, their friends, and the youth of today have
never experienced our urban playground, our Beirut. I long for this legacy to be
passed on. How can we tell our stories and our memories? How can the youth
of today understand and see what is no longer there? How can they create their
own?
figures 44: narrative collage
60
MY INTERPRETATION
Beirut’s urban life has disappeared.
This presents a challenge for me. I want to understand and visualize the stories
that I have been told, the pre-war amnesia of Beirut. I almost feel as though
it is my duty through my curiosity to recreate a journey for my generation to
see the Lebanon that once was. These urban spaces exist all through Beirut,
and particularly through Ras Beirut, they are still physically there, and yet they
have been forgotten and taken over by cars. why not revive them?
In effect, the revival will take a different form than what it was. A system will
be created: experienced as a journey that one can venture throughout the Hayy
network. A subtle intervention: abstract, and simple. Allowing us to embrace
public space as a moment of pause to stop in the city. It needs to exist for the
individual on a small scale, the community on a neighborhood scale, and the
society on a city scale.
I will record a 30 day journal in the form of boxes, spending an hour in
a different Hayy space daily, and let these 30 boxes be the basis of next
semester’s investigation.
61
PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE
Educating the younger generation, my generation of today of what a pre-war
Lebanon was like. One that has filled all the memories and images in our
parents and grandparents’ minds. It is something that is unreachable as the
times have transformed and changed so much. With the notion of what was
once, I will try and touch to certain aspects of the past while being most aware
of the contemporary, the reality of today. The walking tour, network, and larger
connection helps relate this piece back to personal level on multiple scales.
figures 45: narrative collage
62
63
ON-SITE OBSERVATIONS
64
RAS BEIRUT
In starting my exploration of a certain area, I had to choose one where the
potential of such design interventions would be tested to its fullest. Essentially,
I wanted it to be an area which was prone to a more open mind, one that was
secular, and had a variety of age groups. Ras Beirut is an important region in
Beirut. It houses the American University of Beirut (AUB), along with many
other international and local schools. The inhabitants and wonderers of the
area have usually lived there for a long time or are rather young students
settling into this bustling neighborhood. Various layers of important elements
define the area, politically, socially, economically, and most importantly
historically. It contains one of the most popular streets of the city, Hamra
street, one with lots of shopping and old cinemas and theatres. It has since
(pre-war) kept that legacy, as the main theatres are relics and beacons of the
past.
This older neighborhood’s urban scape, fortunately, contains many different
in-between spaces, through transitory alleyways, courtyards, and open crevices
between buildings. The streetscape is generally loud and busy. Creating
moments of pause will essentially be the necessary missing link to provide well
thought-out public spaces that are lacking so much.
figures 46: ras beirut streets
65
figures 47, 48, 49: ras beirut streets
66
RE-PURPOSED ALLEYWAYS
Some, but unfortunately, very few.
A few alleyways have been turned into pedestrian walkways for people. Through
approval from the municipality, restaurant owners have come together to turn a
car accesible alley into a comfortable walkable path for people. ‘Cafe-trottoirs’
and outdoor ‘souqs’ (markets) are set up a few days a week selling local
products from the city and the mountains.
Another similar alley has been turned into a pedestrian bar-scene for young and
old to enjoy music out on the streets.
The scarse presence of such spaces gives them a unique vibe in a city that has
lost its street life. In such a young neighborhood, the potential for such spaces
is so needed and can help the urban life extensively.
67
figures 50: bread republic cafe- pedestrian alley
figures 51: “the alleyway” bars and cafes in this pedestrial alley
68
Construction Site
P
Old Khalidy hospital
NapoleonHotel Mayflower
Hotel
MarbleTower Hotel
arguile man
shoeshine
La Cigale
Laundry
Bakerysmells
Old HouseSerof New building
Construction
PChurch and SchoolCourtyard
Church bellsCookingsmells
School
Sound of children
VegetablesellerBlue Note
Jazz Bar
Constructionsite
P
P
Bullet holes
Constructionsite
Graffiti
Manakeeshsmells
P
PBulletholes
Soldiers
SoldiersPosters onfacade
Old housewith shutters
Theology school
Closed privatecourtyard
Indian embassy
DemocraticRepublic ofMusic Abandoned
building
Kindergarten
Orange tree
Childrenscreems
Medical clinics
Constructionsite
Renewed quiet alley
Syrianembassy
Hotelembassy
Street cafes
Bulletholes
Old buildings
Bullet holes
Politicalparty
Carte d’OrHotel
Farah building
Mosaic wall
Graffiti
Alleywaywithbars
Cinema Hamra
Horse Shoe
Strand Center
Pedestrianalley
Old House(1926)
Manakeeshsmells
Oldbuilding
NewBuilding
Trashcans
Bread smells
Cookingsmells
Shoe shine
Faisal’s
BlueBuilding
Khouryhospital
New building
New building
AgialGallery
Ovensmells
Oldcafe
Constructionsite
Construction
red-tilesidewalk
Golden Tulip Hotel
Monte CarloCInema
Modka Cafe
Cafe de ParisPicadillyCinema
Graffiti
Vegetable seller
P
HSBC
Old House
Red door
Honking
Trash Cans
ShoeShine
Traffic
P
Graffiti
Old houseVegetableseller
Citrustrees
Graffiti
Trash cans
p
Constructionsite
quiet alley
OBSERVATIONS IN BEIRUT
Walking around the streets I recorded
observations, things that stuck out, as well as
the noting of certain interactions that really
struck out to me.
I began with a zoning map, categorizing
residential (blue), commercial (red), arts
and entertainment (yellow), health (orange),
schools (turquoise) and universities (blue
striped), hotels (green) and offices (purple).
I also began to record the scarce vegetation
that was around.
I also recorded interactions that I have with
people on the streets. Artisans, sellers, and
street vendors carry a part of the unique
culture in their presence as the have been
there for quite some time.
Lastly, I realized that my senses were most
accentuated when I was walking around. I
couldn’t avoid the smells, sounds, viewpoints
I stumbled on and felt the need to record
them.
69
Construction Site
P
Old Khalidy hospital
NapoleonHotel Mayflower
Hotel
MarbleTower Hotel
arguile man
shoeshine
La Cigale
Laundry
Bakerysmells
Old HouseSerof New building
Construction
PChurch and SchoolCourtyard
Church bellsCookingsmells
School
Sound of children
VegetablesellerBlue Note
Jazz Bar
Constructionsite
P
P
Bullet holes
Constructionsite
Graffiti
Manakeeshsmells
P
PBulletholes
Soldiers
SoldiersPosters onfacade
Old housewith shutters
Theology school
Closed privatecourtyard
Indian embassy
DemocraticRepublic ofMusic Abandoned
building
Kindergarten
Orange tree
Childrenscreems
Medical clinics
Constructionsite
Renewed quiet alley
Syrianembassy
Hotelembassy
Street cafes
Bulletholes
Old buildings
Bullet holes
Politicalparty
Carte d’OrHotel
Farah building
Mosaic wall
Graffiti
Alleywaywithbars
Cinema Hamra
Horse Shoe
Strand Center
Pedestrianalley
Old House(1926)
Manakeeshsmells
Oldbuilding
NewBuilding
Trashcans
Bread smells
Cookingsmells
Shoe shine
Faisal’s
BlueBuilding
Khouryhospital
New building
New building
AgialGallery
Ovensmells
Oldcafe
Constructionsite
Construction
red-tilesidewalk
Golden Tulip Hotel
Monte CarloCInema
Modka Cafe
Cafe de ParisPicadillyCinema
Graffiti
Vegetable seller
P
HSBC
Old House
Red door
Honking
Trash Cans
ShoeShine
Traffic
P
Graffiti
Old houseVegetableseller
Citrustrees
Graffiti
Trash cans
p
Constructionsite
quiet alley
70
71
DESIGN OUTCOME
72
OVERALL DESIGN APPROACH
Urbanism and city structures reveal the essence of people; it dissects their
culture, history, and way of life. In effect, the traces and details left in
forgotten spaces are the purest elements in the exploration and discovery of
cities.
Beirut is a city inherent with layers of meaning. A fifteen-year Civil War has
lead to a life focused indoors rather than one out in the streets. As a response,
in-between public spaces have been often entirely neglected and discarded
as wasted terrain vague. The investigation of my own city manifested itself in
multiple perceptions re-scripting while understanding the overarching stages
of its history. The in-betweens were re-designed with local characteristics,
responsive to sensory elements surrounding each area, and catered solely for
the people, in creating pedestrian experiences for the urban dweller.
Beirut stages all types of contradictions, eccentricities, and passions which I
am hoping to unfold through my discoveries and touch on in my designs.
73
JUHANI PALLASMAA SENSORY DESIGN THEORY
Juhani Pallasmaa presents a new way of looking at architecture, one that
is poetic, imaginative, and responsive to sensory and phenomenological
experiences. His writing has become greatly influential in various
educational institutions as it presents a new way of looking at space and
“life changing architecture that addresses all “senses” simultaneously.”
Ironically, Pallasmaa does not necessarily regard himself as an architect,
but rather uses architecture as his tool for looking at the world. This allows
him to automatically have a different approach. His understanding of the
art goes back to his experiences as a student interacting with renowned
Finnish architects, such as Alvar Aalto. He expresses their “existential and
philosophical orientation in relation to their work rather than a formally
professional one”. Consequently, these interactions lead to forming his unique
point of view, removing the distinction of architecture as a career. An architect
is a supporter of the mythical dimensions of life, rather than a professionalist.
He implements the need to step back and consider the space and
the realm to a deeper extent. His criticism and his suggestions revolve around
architecture of the seven senses, and the thorough consideration of materials.
He elaborates, “every touching experience of architecture is multi-sensory;
qualities of matter, space, and scale are measured equally by the eye, ear,
nose, skin, tongue, skeleton, and muscle. Architecture thus involves the seven
realms of sensory experience which interact and infuse each other.” He further
encourages a connection between the role of the body and its relation to the
space as the locus of perception. The ultimate meaning extends past simple
architecture and directs our consciousness back to the world towards our own
sense of self. The modernist took on the sense of vision, architecture of the
eye, quite extensively. Their approach considered one important sense, and yet
it remains radically different and restrictive than the one the Finish architect
presents. Matter exists in the continuum of time as the industrial, machine-
made, and unyielding elements surface to the eye without conveying the
material essence of age.
F i n i s h a r c h i t e c t , J u h a n i P a l l a s m a a w a s t r a i n e d a t A a l t o U n i v e r s i t y i n F i n l a n d , a n d i s a l s o c h a r a c t e r i z e d a s c r i t i c a n d e d u c a t o r
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OVERALL DESIGN APPROACH
Looking at all elements in more details, Pallasmaa’s writing explains that it
is unthinkable that a mind could conceive architecture because the role of
the body is its basis or rather its constitution. Architecture is meant to be
an experience. Acoustic intimacy is another element the architect regards
thoroughly. The power of sound to imagination conceives the mind, creating
a sense of connection and solidarity with others experiencing the space. It
allows for an affinity with the space. Lack of sound, in other words, silence,
also carries a deep importance. The most essential auditory experience created
by architecture is tranquility, silencing all external noise allows one to focus
on their very own existence: fundamental solitude. Scent becomes rooted in
memory as one of the most important elements in remembering a space; it
enhances forgotten images and carries the individual in daydream. This draws
a deeper connection between memory and imagination. Lastly, the sense of
touch draws a strong criticism with the materiality of the modernists. Touch
is the sense of nearness, intimacy, and affection. Well-considered materials
not only evoke elements of texture, weight, density, and temperature, but also
carry connotations and a history. Unfortunately, the extensive use of glass,
iron, and concrete refers to mainstream, and cold unsentimental associations.
Pallasmaa suggests the use of rooted materials such as wood and brick, and
the appreciation of metaphor of time. “The language of beauty is essentially
the language of timeless reality.” Along with all these sensory considerations,
the elements of light and temperature connect them all in creating a sense of
atmosphere. It is through the values and perception that one can truly be taken
through the world of reality and imagination.
In conclusion, Pallasmaa’s view of architecture is one that allows the individual
to realize their presence in a space. It is the essence of the now to appreciate
and understand how one relates to space. Sensitive and subtle triggers evoke
a sense of recognition, solidarity, solitude, memory, and imagination. He
roots architecture back to the self and the mind viewing it as life rather than
a profession. Essentially, the architecture spoken about by Pallasmaa is not
necessarily aesthetically polished, but rather is one that “poses a deep and
disturbing emotive power and opens up questions rather than provides well-
formulated answers.” Architecture exists to assist us to know and remember
our identity. It evokes the sense of home.
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figures 52, 53: sensory recordings - model made with clear acrylic
SENSORY MODEL
smells
sounds
viewpoints
interactions
Sensory recordings I captured walking around the streets. I
compiled them in a model to work from to influence the design
of each one of my spaces.
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The interactions with the people I met on the streets
really stood out to me. The Hayy spaces were rarely
occupied, sometimes by the people who live around
the area, otherwise, the dwellers and vendors were
mostly on the main streets.
The vendors are the ones who sustain us- they are
part of our daily routines and they all have a story and
have been around their particular street corner for
some time. In a way, their legacy and their presence
has a fundamental presence in the streets of Beirut.
They represent the culture that is worth sustaining
and keeping alive.
My Hayy interventions will encourage the connections
between the regular urban dweller and the street
vendors and artisans.
figures 54: women in a hayy
figures 55: the shoeshine walks home with his kit
figures 56: painted wall with local tiling patterns
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figures 57, 58: vegetable sellers with moveable carts
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figures 59: manakeesh (local flatbread) maker figures 60: kaak’ sellers in open air souq
figures 61: local coffee maker with his clientele in daily discussion
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figures 62: kaak’ seller with his moveable cart
figures 63: using chairs and seating to claim street space
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81
figures 64: chairs placed on the sidewalk claiming space
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figures 65: inspiration collage (including tiles old historic tiles from lebanon)
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0 15 30 60 90 120 meters
N
SITE PLAN BEIRUT, LEBANON
21
3 45
67
8
10 912
11
141315
16
1718
19
Site plan with 19 designated Hayy spaces.
The spaces have potential to interact together in a network. Some are transitional alleys, others rather enclosed courtyard spaces.
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figures 66, 67: site plan topography model (clear acrylic, wood, insulation foam)
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87
HAYY DESIGNS
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HAYY #3
89
HAYY #3
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figures 68, 69: hayy #3 section model
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Walking on makhoul street, colorful tiles appear slightly on an inner wall and the concrete street. Spatial curiosity is aroused that
lead the viewer in, as he begins to read a musicality and syncopation to the way in which the tiles have been assembled. This is the
moment that leads us through the space, gripping us at the entrance and gently propelling us deeper into the alleyway.
As one walks further in, sounds of the city begin to fade, and colors emerge more and more. Suddenly, a resting point with two
plastic chairs; moveable, and yet a suggestions of their positioning is made with the tiles. Opposite, there is a narrow alleyway. It
receives us one at a time, with smell of fresh trees, secluded into sudden silence as the wooden walls and vines absorb sound with
yet a distant sense of music. Down the stairs, is a recessed space: one that is alive and in which movement is prominent through
the essence of local music and the chatter of people.
figures 70, 71: hayy #3 section model (close-ups)
92 HAYY #7
figures 72: hayy #7 section model
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Coming from loud and noisy Abdel Aziz street, we are reduced to the static essentials. This space is exactly what we see and touch,
exactly what we feel beneath our feet: a stony body. The sensuous presence of the materials defines the space. The acoustic quality
of the stone creates a slight echo mimicked by the narrow strip of water. The spatial constellation of the slabs varies the orientation
of the light, generating shadows and reflections. It tempers the mood of the light and gives depth to the room creating a moment of
pause, and an escape for the dweller.
figures 73, 74: hayy #7 section model (close-ups)
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HAYY #5
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figures 75, 76: hayy #5 section model
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DIAGRAMMATIC MODEL
Attempting a diagrammatic model helped in seeing what kinds of elements I
wanted to bring into the design. I realized the effect of having patterned tiles
weaved in many of the spaces. It helped create a path to follow.
Additionally, elements such as the various white plastic chairs I kept seeing
around the city were elements I felt implied a lot of comfort and encouraged
the dweller to take a pause without feeling attached to the space (with the light
moveability of each object).
figures 77: hayy diagrammatic model
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figures 78, 79: hayy diagrammatic model
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THESIS STATEMENT
Hayy, in-between spaces designed with local charac-
teristics, responsive to sensory recordings surround-
ing each area and catered for the people in creating
pedestrian experiences for the urban dweller.
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Barthes, Roland. “Semiology and Urbanism.” The Semiotic Challenge. Berkeley: University of California, 1994. N. pag. Print.
Candy Chang. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2012. <http://candychang.com/>.
Cotter, Suzanne. Out of Beirut. Oxford: Modern Art Oxford, 2006. Print.
Foucault, Michel. “Michel Foucault. Of Other Spaces (1967), Hetero-topias.” Foucault.info. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.foucault.info/documents/heteroTopia/foucault.heteroTopia.en.html>.
Karam, Michael. Life’s Like That. N.p.: Turning Point Ski Foundation, 2004. Print.
Ruby, Ilka, and Andreas Ruby. “Empty Lots: Collective Action of Ex-perimental Urban Occupation.” Urban Transformation. Berlin: Ruby, 2008. 164-69. Print.
Sturken, Marita. “The Wall, the Screen, and the Image: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial.” Representations, No. 35, Special Issue: Monu-mental Histories. Summer 1991: 118-42. Print.
Toffel, Ludovic. “Urban Development of Beirut.” ETS Basel, Contem-porary City Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.studio-basel.com/projects/beirut/damascus/atlas/city-map-beirut-and-damascus.html>.
WORKS CITED / REFERENCES
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