As Lebanon is gravitating to unknown economic and political realities; we find ourselves- for the first time in our history- poised to imagine an entirely different future for the country.
What if we took this opportunity to think of ways to reinvent Beirut from within, capitalizing on misused/abused/ underused resources in smarter ways? What if we take this unprecedented standstill as a game-changer; in which Beirut comes to terms with its unhealthy relationship with the hinterland and with the linear/neoliberal economic model that supported it?
Due to the magnitude of collapse and halt in our country’s course, can we conceive a new order that shifts from failed Ponzi schemes to circular economies, and reconsider architecture’s role in shaping the processes of such economies?
This FYP section tries to unravel a new reading for the city – and country- by speculating on alternative economies, the role of local production in the building of a new identity and identify strategic architectural projects that can activate the potential of misused resources – from human capital, natural resources, and ecological flows- in order to transition to a circular future of dignified livelihoods.
Students were invited to interpret “circularity” as an alternative system that builds the foundation and identity of their project, on the programmatic, social and architectural level, looking at closed loops that promote proximity and transformation of resources, activities and spaces.
Projects proposed architectures that inscribe in a circular metabolism, from creating new production proximities, to recycling resources, to re-editing existing urban fabric and buildings… Each project pushes its own interpretation of circularity- in the systemic planning of spaces, materiality and construction, and the development of open and flexible forms that favor human and material interactions…