Past Present Preserved Rest by Karine Sarkissian

past present preserved rest recalling cultural identity from the in-between

Desi gner 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.

Morphosis on urban planning contents:

case studies: 1 . empty lots: transforming space in brazil p. 55

2 . moments of pause: p. 05

Abstract p. 07

Initial Investigation p. 63

On-site Observations p. 71

Design Outcome p. 87

Hayy Designs p. 99

Thesis Statement

melbourne laneways p. 56

3 . tacticle urbanism p. 57 4 . re-purposed allyways p. 66

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

BEIRUT

I N I T I A L I N V E S T I G AT ION

08

MAPS

Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria Area: 10,400 sq km (about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut)

turkey

Coastline: 225 km Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows Population: 4,140,289 (July 2012 est.)

Demographics: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% Languages: Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian

syria

cyprus

iraq jordan israel egypt saudi arabia

figure

01 :

lebanon and its surrounding

Religions: 17 religious sects recognized 59% Muslim (Shiah and Sunni), 39% Christian (Maronite, Catholic, Orthodox), 2% other (including Druze)

figure

02 :

map of lebanon

09

URBANISM IN BEIRUT

Patterns within a city are based on location and strategy.

Capital: Beirut

Additionally, social, environmental, and political conditions all play a vital role

Government: Republic

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.

Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) Lebanon was under French Mandate (after WWI, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire). After being granted Independence, the country went through a 15 year civil w a r.

Conflict is still quite prominent in the region.

Government constitution : President: Christian Maronite Prime Minister: Muslim Sunni Head of Cabinet: Muslim Shiah Seats within the Cabinet are based on a census conducted after the Independence Economy: Lebanon has a freemarket economy and a strong laissez-faire commercial tradition.

H o w e v e r, c o r r u p t i o n is evident in decisions taken.

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

11

BEIRUT, URBAN GRAIN

figure

04 :

beirut, arabic versus french planning

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

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

HISTORY AND IDENTITY solidere

Urban initiative within Beirut; it aims to rebuild the city with the image of the past

civil war

(1975 - 1990) devastating political unrest led to a destructed and divided Beirut.

Some buildings still retain marks of conflict.

impacted by traffic and unplanned, crowded building scape. Buildings are often in bad shape and electric lines run across and over the streets. neighborhood life

15

mountains

directly facing the sea have become covered with buildings and construction sites.

include churches and mosques places right next to one another religious buildings

martyr’s square

part of the Solidere developments. This statue at the center of this square reminds the Lebanese of their solidarity.

mediteranean sea

long coast-

line of 225km figure

06 :

beirut’s history and identity

16

CONFLICT AND DESIGN AND MEMORY

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.

El Hayy: An existing concept further development by Aysar Arida, a physicist and urbanist in his writi n g Q u a n t u m C i t y.

figure

07 :

neighborhood structure/study

17

MIND MAP- RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

French Mandate

Beirut

Mixed Demographics

External Control

Druze

Christian

Maronite

Orthodox

Muslim

Sunni

Shiah

Independence 1943

Civil War (1975-90)

Urbanization

Before and during the war

Lack of planning

Today

Old Neighborhoods

What used to be there

Cultural Trail (Solidere)

Ras Beirut

Reference points

Secular

18

URBAN TYPOLOGY

Ras Beirut: This neighborhood remains as one of the only secular regions of Beirut.

This region has largely benefited from the American University of Beirut, along with many other important institutions in the area. Hamra and Bliss streets maintain a unique identity as important landmark streets in the region.

figure

figure

09 :

08 :

urban landscape, buildings

urban landscape, street/nolli map

19

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?

Arman, “Hope for Peace” The statue consists of stacked tanks placed in a concrete covering.

What is the true value of this monument?

How does it commemorate what happened?

There are still many t a n k s a r o u n d t h e c i t y, what about those?

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

This article, “Out of Beirut’”, was taken from the Modern Art Oxford.

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?”

“Out of Beirut” Modern Art, Oxford

21

IDENTITY AND THE NOTION OF PLACE

ARTICLE ANALYSIS:

This article, “Out of Beirut’”, was taken from the Modern Art Oxford.

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.

“Out of Beirut” Modern Art, Oxford

22

POST-WAR ART IN LEBANON

This article, “Out of Beirut’”, was taken from the Modern Art Oxford.

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.

“Out of Beirut” Modern Art, Oxford

23

HAYY VERSUS HETEROTOPIAS

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.

This article, “Heterotopias” was written by Michel Foucault. It has been taken out from ‘Of Other Spaces’ (1967).

24

MIND-MAP DESIGN OUTCOME

effects: social, political, economic

dormant + latent

anomaly in the region (geopolitical)

Beirut’s over-urbanization

spatial + temporal elements

El Hayy consists of a form of Heterotopia. It acts as the ‘other’ to common public spaces. it becomes the space where things can happen

old vs. new

east vs. west

regional vs. global

deliberate erasure of memory

images of past and present refuse to conform to singular notion of place

lack of national identity

laissez-faire lack of resolution with the war

No real public space in Lebanon

“container vs. contained”

no spaces where unpredictable can happen Trauma and Amnesia of Civil war

remembering suffering

of

collective vs. physical

streets surveillance

effect of memory no real memorial in Lebanon

EL-HAYY

network

to relegate the past

memorials?

irrational form plays counterform

25

LEBANESE IDENTITIES

Drawn and inspired from “Life’s Like That”

by Michael Karam, Peter Grimsditch and Maya Fidawi (illustrations)

Right: Taxi (service) driver figure

11

Bottom left: Shisha (Arguile) smoker on the corniche, by the water figure

12

Bottom right: civil servant figure

13

26

MAPPING, INVESTIGATIONS

27

The buildings are built wherever there is space.

No planning or zoning codes apply in neighborhoods around Beirut.

The streets appear to h a v e s o m e o r d e r, b u t also wind around and are framed by the surrounding buildings.

figure

14 :

urban landscape, buildings and streets

28

HAYY SPACES

29

The ‘Hayy’ spaces are internal and almost hidden.

These spaces appear as semi-private, but are entirely public, and not surveilled. Their intricate shapes allow from interesting and intricate spaces.

figure

15:

streets

,

buildings, and

”hayy’

spaces/

nner courtyards

30

HAYY SPACES AND THE STREETS

31

The Hayy spaces are the ones I will undertake and implement design in.

They are the heterotopias that allow the value of public space to exist.

figure

16:

hayy and streets

32

HOW PUBLIC ARE ‘PUBLIC SPACES’?

33

The ‘open’ (brown) and ‘green’ spaces have lost their essence as public space. No real public life exists in those spaces.

Waterfronts, walk-ways, gardens are all surveilled and overtaken by authorities and political parties.

figure

17:

public spaces, green spaces, and hayy are public spaces truly public?

34

HAYY? OR PARKING SPACE?

figure

18:

erasure of memory?

Photocollage of a Hayy Space. It has lost its charm and essence, renovated into a parking lot.

figure

19:

garden, nature overtakes

35

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

Candy Chang is an Arc h i t e c t , U r b a n D e s i g n e r, and Graphic design.

By adapting the various majors she has taken on, she created her own discipline.

She creates public interventions that encourage conversation among people within the neighborhood, and throughout various cities.

strength of collective wisdom in our lives and the cities we live in.

figure

figure

21:

20: ‘before

i die�

sidewalk psychiatry

figure

22:

career path

These are examples of various projects Chang has set up around cities. They encourage people to contribute and start conversations, as well as ask themselves questions. It becomes a continuous conversation with the city and the surrounding.

36

VIETNAM MEMORIAL, FORMS OF REMEMBRANCE

The article ‘The Wall, the Screen and the Image, written by Marita Sturken, represents Maya Lin’s approach to the Vietnam Memorial. Resisting certain hegemonies through memorials and architecture that respects the earth’s organic processes and the connections to its surrounding.

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 nonterritorial, 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 nonterritorial 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.

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 reinscribe 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

CHARACTERIZING SPACES

In order to create the ideal ‘Hayy’ spaces, an investigation of the surroundings in essential. Understanding what is and what was there matters, and should not be neglected when created the design for the spaces.

The network will not only create internal public spaces that simply conn e c t t o o n e a n o t h e r, b u t also will include an ‘homage’ and consideration of the value of the space.

figure

23:

analysis and personal interpretation of spaces

40

STUDY, HAYY IDEAS AND INVESTIGATION OF HAMRA STREET

Through the thourough investigation of this area (which includes Hamra Street), developments of ‘Hayy’ spaces will cater the surroundings.

Subtle designs and public interventions will speak to the areas and become almost site specific (literal or functional).

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

Jan Gehl remains as one of the most important urban planners around the world. His ideal model is not only carried on by his firm by has been adopted around the world in all sorts of public spaces.

42

CONCEPT, ADAPTATION OF SPACE

43

figure

25:

figure

hayy space collage

26:

concept collage

44

CONCEPT DIAGRAM, DESIGN APPROACH

From a single neglected space...

To an activated public space...

To a network o

45

To a network of public spaces...

with infinite possibilities... figure

27:

concept diagram, network of spaces

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

figure

29:

terrain vague on the raouche corniche, unclaimed green space

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.

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?

This article “Semiology and Urbanism” was written by Roland Barthes.

Barthes was a French c r i t i c a n d w r i t e r, a n d t h i s article surrounding the value of language and semiology is part of his later post-structuralism period.

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

Peter Zumthor ’s Kolumba Museum was built in Cologne, Germany after the destructions the city faced during WWII. The museum houses the old ruins from the destroyed Catholic church at the time.

The project emerged from “Inside out and from the place” as said by Z u m t h o r.

figure

figure

32:

31:

exterior perforated facade of the building

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

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

Empty Lots: Collective Action of Experimental Urban Occupation is an article written by Louise Marie Cardoso Ganz.

The article is published i n U r b a n Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n , editec by Ilka and Adreas R u b y.

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 microurban 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 multilevel...

figures

41:

melbourne laneways, a perfect example of an implemented system

57

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.

“Urban interventions of a sort – quick, often temp o r a r y, c h e a p p r o j e c t s that aim to make a small part of a city more lively or enjoyable. These types of projects have grown in popularity in recent years, and they even have a new name: tactical urbanism, as in tactics used to improve the urban environment.

These tactics tend to be replicable across cities, and in certain instances have become worldwide phenomena.�

figures

42, 43

tactical urbanism in cities

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 /

58

POETICS OF MY EXPLORATION WHY 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

O N - S I T E O B S E R VAT I ONS

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

OBSERVATIONS IN BEIRUT

Walking around the streets I recorded

Construction Site

observations, things that stuck out, as well as

Old House (1926)

P

the noting of certain interactions that really struck out to me.

I began with a zoning map, categorizing

Old Khalidy hospital

New Buildi

residential (blue), commercial (red), arts and entertainment (yellow), health (orange), schools (turquoise) and universities (blue

Vegetable seller

striped), hotels (green) and offices (purple).

I also began to record the scarce vegetation

Old ho

Bakery smells

that was around.

Laundry

I also recorded interactions that I have with quiet alley

people on the streets. Artisans, sellers, and

La Cigale

street vendors carry a part of the unique culture in their presence as the have been there for quite some time.

Napoleon Hotel

Mayflower Hotel

Old buildings

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

arguile man Marble Tower Hotel

them.

shoeshine Trash cans Pedestrian alley

p

Strand Center

Construction site

ding

69

Shoe shine

Faisal’s Church and School Courtyard

P

Old House Serof New building Construction Construction site

School

Cooking smells

Blue Building

Sound of children Cooking smells

Church bells Bread smells

Trash cans

Graffiti Khoury hospital

P

Vegetable seller

Blue Note Jazz Bar

Graffiti

New building

P

Traffic

Bullet holes Old building

New building

P

Manakeesh smells

Manakeesh smells

Construction site

Construction site

Bullet holes

ouse

Shoe Shine

P Soldiers

Graffiti

P

Posters on facade

Soldiers

Agial Gallery

Democratic Republic of Music

Abandoned building

Old house with shutters

Citrus trees

Trash Cans

Theology school

Old cafe

Bullet holes Construction site

Closed private courtyard Indian embassy

Oven smells

Honking

Orange tree Kindergarten

Bullet holes

Children screems Medical clinics

Renewed quiet alley

Old House Red door Hotel embassy red-tile sidewalk

Graffiti

P Political party

Syrian embassy

Street cafes

Carte d’Or Hotel

Golden Tulip Hotel

Vegetable seller

HSBC Mosaic wall Alleyway with bars

Farah building

Monte Carlo CInema Graffiti

Modka Cafe Cinema Hamra Horse Shoe

Picadilly Cinema

Cafe de Paris

Construction

70

71

D E S I G N O U TC OME

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, machinemade, and unyielding elements surface to the eye without conveying the material essence of age.

Finish architect, Juhani Pallasmaa was trained at Aalto University in Finland, and is also characterized as critic and educator

74

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 wellformulated answers.” Architecture exists to assist us to know and remember our identity. It evokes the sense of home.

75

SENSORY MODEL smells sounds viewpoints interactions

figures

52, 53:

sensory recordings

-

model made with clear acrylic

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.

76

figures

54:

women in a hayy

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

figures

55:

56:

the shoeshine walks home with his kit

painted wall with local tiling patterns

77

figures

57, 58:

vegetable sellers with moveable carts

78

figures

59:

manakeesh (local flatbread) maker

figures

figures

61:

60:

kaak’ sellers in open air souq

local coffee maker with his clientele in daily discussion

79

figures

figures

63:

62:

kaak’ seller with his moveable cart

using chairs and seating to claim street space

80

81

figures

64:

chairs placed on the sidewalk claiming space

82

83

figures

65:

inspiration collage (including tiles old historic tiles from lebanon)

84 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.

1 2 5

4

3 11

8

12

10

6 7

9

13

15

14

16 17 18

19

SITE PLAN

BEIRUT, LEBANON N

0

15

30

60

90

120 meters

85

figures

66, 67:

site plan topography model (clear acrylic, wood, insulation foam)

86

87

H AY Y D E S I GNS

88

89

HAYY #3

90

figures

68, 69:

hayy

#3

section model

91

figures

70, 71:

hayy

#3

section model (close-ups)

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.

92

H AY Y # 7

figures

72:

hayy

#7

section model

93 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)

94

H AYY #5

95

figures

75, 76:

hayy

#5

section model

96

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

97

figures

78, 79:

hayy diagrammatic model

98

99

T H E S I S S TAT E M ENT

Hayy, in-between spaces designed with local charac teristics, responsive to sensor y recordings surround ing each area and catered for the people in creating pedestrian experiences for the urban dweller.

100

101

WORKS CITED / REFERENCES

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), Heterotopias.” 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 Experimental 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: Monumental Histories. Summer 1991: 118-42. Print.

Toffel, Ludovic. “Urban Development of Beirut.” ETS Basel, Contemporary City Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www. studio-basel.com/projects/beirut/damascus/atlas/city-map-beirut-anddamascus.html>.

102

103