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Today we are back to our regular programming of architecture, historic preservation, urban planning and design. The subject up for discussion is historic preservation in post-bombing Beirut, Lebanon.
On August 4, 2020, the port city of Beirut, Lebanon was hit with a massive explosive that killed at 190 people, injured another 6,500, leaving another 300,000 homeless and caused about $10-$15 billion (USD) in property damage. The cause of the blast destroyed a large swath of the capital city was a large amount off ammonium nitrate--a common fertilizer--stored in a warehouse. The explosion is still being investigated to determine why 2,750 tons--the approximate equivalent of 1.1 kilotons of TNT--was improperly stored for six years, prior to the explosion.
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| The Port of Beirut before and after Beirut, Lebanon bbc.com |
The blast also tore through 8,000 houses in nearby neighborhoods, particularly in the predominantly Christian neighborhoods of Gemmayzeh, Mar Mihaael, and Achrafieh (latimes.com; Aug. 13, 2020; date accessed Aug. 31, 2020). Gemmayzeh is worth noting because it stands out as a "jewel-like example of the late Ottoman and French Mandate houses of fin-de-siecle Lebanon, with its facade of three arches and wide balconies" (latimes.com; Aug. 13, 2020). Restoring architectural jewel-like examples, such as the ones in Gemmayzeh, is an extremely daunting and costly endeavor. Nabih Bulos reports, "Even before the blast, Lebanon was essentially a failed state: Banks had stopped giving money to account holders; the national currency was plummeting against the dollar; prices were skyrocketing; 22-hour power cuts were standard" (latimes.com; Aug. 13, 2020). With so many property owners in dire financial circumstances, Lebanese preservationists are now concerned that developers will swoop in and pick off historic building for a fraction of their worth and turn them into anonymous apartment blocks.
It would not be the first time, historically and culturally significant buildings have been under threat from developers. Mr. Bulos writes, "During the civil war, the capital's downtown became an artillery zone for rival militias. The area, a sort of Las-Vegas-on-the-Med with a collection of historic buildings, markets and boulevards, became a wasteland denuded of people and commercial activity" (Ibid). In order to prevent such terrible fate, international efforts are underway to identify, recover, and restore Beirut's historic and cultural treasures in hopes of saving them from a date with the wrecking ball.
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| House damaged in the blast Beirut, Lebanon apnews.com |
The United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, announced that it was leading an international campaign for the recovery and reconstruction of Beirut's historic and cultural heritage (washingtonpost.com; Aug. 13, 2020; date accessed Aug. 31, 2020). Local officials believe that "around 60 historic building in the Lebanese capital were at risk of collapse..." (Ibid). The blast not only inflicted severe damage to most of the city's historic neighborhoods, it also cause major damage to its cultural institutions (museums and galleries) and religious sites at time when the country was already reeling from the twin financial and COVID-19 pandemic crises (whc.unesco.org; Aug. 3, 2020; date accessed Aug. 31, 2020). UNESCO and its regional partners are working to stabilize the buildings, assess the damage, and create an action plan to recover and rebuild.
UNESCO, in response to calls for support from the Lebanese Directorate-General of Antiquities, will lead the international reconstruction campaign based on the Directorate-General's technical needs assessment and an International Action Plan for Culture in the capital city, which UNESCO is currently developing with its partners in Lebanon and abroad (Ibid).
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| Debris clean up theconversation.com |
Dr. Sarkis Khoury, the Director-General of Antiquities at the Ministry of Cultural, shared his initial assessment of damage to historic cultural sites in the city. Dr. Khoury noted
that at least 8,000 buildings, many concentrated in the old districts of Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael, were affected. Among them are some 640 historic buildings, approximately 60 of which are risk of collapse... (Ibid)
The most immediate need is structural consolidate and waterproofing intervention to reduce the risk of further damage from the approaching autumn rains. Further emergency measures to safeguard Beirut's cultural life includes the mobilization of local artists, cultural professionals, artisans and keepers of traditional knowledge. Further, UNESCO is coordinating with key partners including: the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Area, the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage, Blue Shield, the International Center for the Study and Preservation of Restoration of Cultural Property, and the International Council of Museums and Sites (Ibid). Will international efforts come in time to prevent developers from razing the historic buildings and cultural sites?
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| Historic Beirut nakhal.com |
Historic and cultural heritage in Beirut have taken on a particular relevance in the decades following the end of the civil war during the early 1990s, when the reconstruction of the city center included razing a large portion of the Ottoman-French Mandate and modernist architectural heritage (globalheritage.nl; Aug. 17, 2020; date accessed Aug. 31, 2020). Lebanese activists, architects, and preservationist opposed the plans, arguing "that in addition to these plans being elitist, selective, and exclusive, they hardly reflect Beirut's cultures and multiplicity of its histories (Ibid). Since the reconstruction of the city center, and like many of the cities in the region, Beirut has incrementally losing its architectural heritage. An absence of comprehensive historic preservation policies and practices means that historic buildings are routinely demolished, replaced by more dense and profitable developments.
| Contemporary Beirut beirutreport.com |
In the few weeks since the blast, the subject of heritage conservation remains serious and germane. Be that as it may, "its primary relevance lies in it being symptomatic of fundamental governance and structural malpractices" (Ibid). The blast, which left approximately 300,000 individuals without shelter was the latest in series of events that brought the ineptitude and inefficiency of the current system of governance. "Over the past 10 months, thousands of citizens have been protesting in the streets of Lebanon against severe economic and environmental crisis, which they held the existing political class and the deep-rooted corruption accountable for" (Ibid). Four days after the blast, thousands of young people stage a protest, marching from the destroyed Electricity of Lebanon building through the streets of Gemmayzeh to the city center to give voice to their anger at the failing conditions and indifferent institution that allowed such a tragedy to happen (Ibid).
With thousands of housing units rendered uninhabitable by the blast, community organizations have made it their priority to provide the affect residents with some form of shelter. All well and fine, but heritage conservation can be quite impatient. "Many residents of the affected neighborhoods have already received compensation offers by opportunistic developers to leave their houses following the blast" (Ibid). Architects and planners are worried that without state protection, these historically and culturally rich neighborhoods might give way to gentrification. At the same time, the residents are aware that strictly technical strategy to the blast-related destruction most likely be insufficient. The technical approach will not fully be able to provide a more sustainable solution--something that responds to the needs of the affected communities (Ibid). Further, it could undermines efforts by segments of Lebanese society calling for complete political and structural reform that adequately meets their demands for more inclusive citizenship (Ibid). Perhaps the best approach to saving Beirut's historic and cultural legacy is a grass roots effort that can fully realize the desire for a more inclusive citizenship.
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