Project Description
Urban Planning
Phase 01: The proposal strikes to make The dock yard of 2.1 million sq.m (where the tragic August 4th 2020 explosion occurred), as the new Front Porch of Beirut. The vision stems from the narrative that all Beirutis , be it the Maronites, the Shias , the Sunnis, or the Druze have equal access to the site as a ‘Place of Trust. Part of the existing sea port is relocated to the east, to allow for the front ‘Sea Face’ of Beirut to become a landmark coastline. The vast area thus reclaimed for the development becomes an apolitical, non religious parallel spine to Beirut’s old city, where indeed one can can walk without fear from one end of the city to the other. The development channels the public realm with vast water & green plazas along the Charles Helou Rd, thus creating a ‘Front Lawn’ for the city. Beyond the plazas once sees the pavilion of ‘Souks’ retail that acts the protective barrier of the ‘Place of Trust’.
Phase 01 also includes 563,000 sq.m of residential development & 100,000 sq.m of office space. The whole development is book ended by an Exhibition complex on the west , which becomes a natural transition to the ship dockyards.
The east book end is the Performance hall, that becomes the cultural anchor of the development .
Phase 02: A landmark hotel in the shape of a sail takes center stage and acts as a light tower nestled on a land fill over the shore shallow waters. The end of the development is an aquarium that merges the land into the sea.
Financial Modelling: the lion share of the revenue from the retail ‘souks’ will be used as cross subsidy, and one of the three legs that would support the housing development dedicated to denizens of Beirut whose homes were destroyed in the great blast. The other two legs of this development are financed by the commercial tower and the condotel
Architecture of the ‘Souks’ : Inspired by the awnings seen in the traditional Arab market place, the ‘ Souks ’ ( phase 01) sports a series of building profiles that are visually arresting yet rooted in the memory of the past. The morphology though contemporary, does not suffer from the same alien architecture that one sees in the gulf country cities. It is uniquely ‘Arab’. The ‘souks’ also act as a security barrier to the Marina Park without looking like a separating wall. The sloping green roof of the in-between spaces of the pavilions provides a secure nature park facing the sea.
Architecture of the Towers: The Iconic ‘A’ Frame Office and Residential Towers are the anchor of the 1st phase of the Phoenix Development. The residential towers are visually arresting yet without being an eye candy architecture. The inclined glowing mass within the morphology of the towers creates an unifying element for the tower clusters. The emphatic red suspended inclined mass of the ‘A’ frame tower hovers over the new water way as if defying gravity. The iconic ‘A’ frame traddles over the connecting water way to the harbor beyond, thus becoming literally the ‘Gateway’ of Beirut.
Architecture of the Exhibition Hall: The Exhibition Hall (Phase 01) marks the natural programmatic border between the shipping container dock yards and the Phoenix Development. The Exhibition Hall / ‘Messe Beirut’ reflects the trading heritage that Beirut enjoys with the rest of the world. The large Messe halls are composed of a series of arch like, sail like, wings of dove like façade that though contemporary looking, yet has distinctly middle eastern architectural flare. For economic prosperity and trade advancement, an established culture of Trade Fairs would make Beirut a premiere trading hub in the Middle East. Economic prosperity is key to sectarian unity for a society as divided as Beirut
Symphony Hall Architecture: The Performing Art Center and Symphony Hall (Phase 01) will be the anchor program that would promote Lebanese performing art and culture. The identity of a society is rooted in its culture, & it is through nurturing a cultural identity that the identity of a society evolves, matures. And for a post conflict society, celebration of identity, harmony & pride are quintessential. Thus a Performing Art Center is a coalescing program for a healing society. The architecture of the Performing Art Center & Symphony Hall plays off the image of the curtains of a performance stage. The Facade ‘Drapes’ the structure , creating a stunning , yet not over the top architecture. Entrances to the concourses are through the gaps in the curtains. The facade are lined up with LED strips that are modulated as per the music of the symphony ie are a virtual graphic equalizer display that functions to the tune of the symphonies in real time.
Architecture of Landmark hotel: The Landmark Hotel (Phase 02) would rival the most luxurious hotels in the world . It sits right on the water with extraordinary views of the sea and Beirut. But the most iconic feature of the hotel is its profile itself. Inspired by the sails of a boat , the landmark Hotel sports a very unique maritime look.
Architecture of the Aquarium: The Beirut Aquariums (Phase 02) are a ‘never seen before’ aquarium type in the world. The large aquarium tanks are essentially ‘Water Blocks’ exposed to the outside ie sunlight. The visitor galleries are within the tanks accessed by a subterranean concourse. The roof of the tanks are green lawns which are accessible by the visitors affording great views out to the city & the sea . Such a schematic for an aquarium also
has the advantage that people can leisure view the tanks while strolling the parks without ever going into the formal exhibits. The lanes between the ‘water blocks ‘ are reminiscent of the streets of old Beirut. Emerald Blue glow of the tanks during day time seen from within and seen from outside during the evening hours is itself a land feature.