Since the rise of Beirut in the eighteen centuries, the relation of the city to the port has been instrumental, prompted by the shift from inland caravan city to coastal city. From early times, the port and the city were in a Mutualistic relationship. However, this symbiotic relation started to change little by little, until it reached a point in which it drastically altered from Mutualistic to Parasitic, perfectly illustrated by the explosion that happened on august 4th. The parasitical manifestation made us once again (re)think the relation between the port and the city of Beirut on so many levels: Political, Livelihood, Collective memory, Infrastructure.
The aim of this intervention is to re-establish the pre-existing ties between the city and the port creating a new system of relations and connectedness. The proposed project is a Maritime transportation hub that would complement Charles Helou bus and Taxi station forming altogether an urban dynamic node within the urban fabric of the city transforming infrastructures necessities into gathering places for social interactions. The terminal will act both functionally and spatially as a mediator between the urban environment and maritime activities and present itself as a continuous extension of the city’s existing structure.