“A bold intention to open up a territory that was suppressed and forgotten in the collective memory” – Holcim Awards Jury
-
1 / 1
Project entry 2014 Africa Middle East - Evergreen City: Urban pine forest rehabilitation, Beirut, Lebanon
The Lebanese coast is an urban concrete jungle with very limited green spaces and few public parks that cater for the wellbeing of the urban dwellers. The Beirut Pine Forest is centrally located in the city and can be easily accessible through main roads. It is surrounded by different functions such as residential, office, educational, cultural, and religious precincts. Softscape, an urban project starting from Downtown Beirut will have the Beirut Pine Forest as its final stop.
The project’s bold intention to open up a territory – located in the midst of the city’s “concrete jungle” and essentially suppressed and forgotten in the collective memory – to the public at large was strongly commended by the jury. The city of Beirut, under constant pressure by private development to use every piece of available land for more and more expansion, must rehabilitate its green spaces and make them accessible to the public – a restoration not only of its natural habitat but most importantly of the very ideal of the city as collective body – Beirut’s civitas.
Last updated: June 13, 2014 Beirut, Lebanon
The project’s bold intention to open up a territory – located in the midst of the city’s “concrete jungle” and essentially suppressed and forgotten in the collective memory – to the public at large was strongly commended by the jury. The city of Beirut, under constant pressure by private development to use every piece of available land for more and more expansion, must rehabilitate its green spaces and make them accessible to the public – a restoration not only of its natural habitat but most importantly of the very ideal of the city as collective body – Beirut’s civitas.