Redefining Beirut’s Cityscape
Profile
“in terms of visual language and downtown, i have big reservations about what has taken place there,” she said. On one hand, Fallaha recognizes some positive aspects of the commercial emphasis in downtown beirut, namely the development of shop windows as an emerging aesthetic form in which a whole story is being told through a windowpane. this, Fallaha pointed out, engages pedestrians in a way that enables them to break from their transient movement and create some sense of public space. nevertheless, the visual language of the downtown area is problematic because it lacks identity and reference, Fallaha said: “it’s supposed to address the beirut population, the lebanese population, but it’s not.”
“Our cities do not offer the opportunity where citizens or society can move and can enjoy the public structure. This is one of the major problems.” —Maroun Daccache, LAU professor this lack of identity leaves an opening for the big multinational chains, which combine with the exclusive facilities to create a generally alienating environment. echoing the sentiment of her former professor, Jammal claimed that Solidere is a phenomenon that people her age don’t appreciate: “i feel like it’s cheating beirut, erasing beirut’s memories and trying to bring this shiny thing to life. it’s very superficial.”
Facing the challenges in the face of corporate adversity, Jammal, some of her peers, and a growing number of artists and designers are taking steps toward reversing what they see as the homogenizing status quo. One major stepping-stone along this path was the establishment of the chapter of architecture for Humanity in beirut in 2009. like similar groups around the world, the chapter aims to use architecture and design to creatively impact underprivileged communities. “We want to use both aspects of architecture and design and humanitarian work together, and do something positive,” said Jammal. With the help of its 18 registered members and hundreds more who support the organization through online social networks, the beirut chapter recently painted a mural at a public primary school in Hamra as its first project. alongside such community-based efforts, a growing number of new publications have been adding steam to the movement that seeks to link public space with responsible citizenship. One example is “at the edge of the City: Reinhabiting Public Space toward the Recovery of beirut’s Horsh al-Sanawbar.” the book, edited by aub graphic designer Fadi Shayya, is a collection of visual and written pieces that critically assess the current closure of Horsh al-Sanawbar near tayyouneh, beirut’s only open green space. as the brainchild of the alternative design consultancy group Discursive Formations, the book’s website aims to “shape an understanding of continuously evolving meanings of public space in beirut…”
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Architecture for Humanity
this movement to mobilize artists and cultural institutions to challenge the privatization of beirut’s public spaces has a pedagogical dimension, as well. For instance, faculty at lau are attempting to equip design students with the tools and capacities they need to effect change. a first step was the merging of lau’s graphic design and architecture programs into the School of architecture and Design in 2009. the objective of the merger was to sensitize students to the links between the design-based disciplines. although Daccache acknowledged that this interdisciplinary approach is hardly new, he said he is convinced that a holistic approach will encourage students to engage more profoundly with the issues inherent in architecture and design, instead of focusing mainly on creating objects. building on this point, the school teaches its students to establish equilibrium between context and message. “We are educating them as responsible citizens,” said Yasmine taan, graphic design instructor, “not as technicians.” this approach is not without its challenges, because upon graduation, students enter into a consumerist and advertising-driven market, which does not leave much room for designers to explore underlying themes. nonetheless, the market nowadays is more open than it was 15 years ago, and an abundance of conferences and cultural initiatives give designers a chance to produce non-commercial work. the proliferation of alternative print media is providing another textual and discursive space for designers to venture new solutions to the issues of their generation.
“I feel it, and you can see it in artistic interventions, a lot of art, a lot of theater, a lot of music. You can feel that there is a collective spirit of moving forward.” —Jana Jammal, LAU alumna Despite the constraints currently facing lebanon’s new generation of graphic designers and architects, the movement of young, engaged artists committed to improving the public space of their capital city is growing. For her part, Jammal said she is hopeful about the potential for change unleashed when talented individuals pool their creative energies: “i feel it, and you can see it in artistic interventions, a lot of art, a lot of theater, a lot of music. You can feel that there is a collective spirit of moving forward.”