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Martyr's Square (Beirut, Lebanon)This competition took place while the reclaimed city center was witnessing important morphological transitions. Most of the public spaces within the perimeter of downtown Beirut were rehabilitated except for the most symbolic one: Martyr’s Square.
An ambitious project was set by Solidere defining a mixed used program stretched on what became entitled Martyr’s Square and the Grand Axis of Beirut. Our urban development proposal understands the above objective as an opportunity to redraw Beirut’s secular identity within a pluralistic social fabric. The proposal stretches from south to north and culminates on the first basin of the port. A linear public space punctuated by four major elements: 1. Debbas Square: Offices and cultural buildings blend with Azarieh corporate block, the city center and the egg-shaped theater. 2. Martyr’s Square (renamed Public Square): This space opens north towards the sea and west towards Place de l’Etoile and the Garden of Forgiveness. 3. The Tell Museum: A vertical museum combining indoor and outdoor settings within a dense archeological site. 4. The National Theater: It is the termination of the grand axis marked by openness to the sea. The program of the theater extends in the thickness of the platform and culminates in the form of a tower / lighthouse. |