'horsh beirut 2.0' proposal reclaims one of the last remaining public green spaces in lebanon

in order to counter the separations within the area caused high speed roads and high walls, hassoun, youness and moghrabi proposed an elevated-level, pedestrian friendly vertical extension to the public space in its original form. the elevation connects the entire areas of the beirut hippodrome, horsh beirut triangle, shatila cemeteries, shatila gardens, and parts of the surrounding communities connected via one network system, offering pedestrians easy access for pedestrians to the various sections of the region. this network system utilizes architectonic pod-and-node structures which are placed strategically on ‘hot zones’, areas of interest where a certain community-based activity or strategic location exists. the pods on these networks then work on acting as transportation systems, both horizontally and vertically.

civil war memorial render

horizontally, the pods transport visitors between surrounding communities, public spaces, and different pavilions, which are all on the second level. vertically, each node allows for the transportation from the elevated platform down to the ground level. as the nodes exist on areas of particular sociocultural interest, each of them hosts a pavilion within, around, or underneath it that provides a function existing in tandem with the hot zone it is a part of. for example, to the northern corner, the omar beyhum road separates the once-connected horsh beirut and beirut hippodrome – two massive and pine-rich spaces. a system of two nodes creates a direct and accessible connection between the two, while also hosting a two-halved civil war memorial which crosses over the demarcation line that once separated east and west beirut.

network system from within the horsh

the nodal system exists in two forms: the platform system and rainwater collector. the first one is a metallic structural system with a viewing platform on top, while the latter is similar with an exterior skin and top rainwater collector. this collector extends pipes attached to the bottom of pedestrian and pod-transportation platforms in order to periodically sprinkle water above the green areas, during the hot weather. this allows for one of the area’s first irrigation systems that covers the horsh triangle, and also the surrounding green spaces. both of these systems are temporary and non-destructive, using pre-fabricated materials which are assembled on site, making the project respectful of the prohibition of concrete and/or permanent structures on the horsh’s legal action zone. this makes horsh beirut 2.0 a project that is non-destructive, socially aware, legally valid, temporary in nature, mobility focused, aware of its environmental responsibility, and fully adaptable to sociocultural evolutions and changing needs through time.

network system from the omar beyhum road view

conceptual collage of the project

singular node and pod unit

urban strategy and mapping

the entire urban intervention

exploded axonometric drawing of the civil war memorial

elevation of the entire civil war memorial