Geopoliticus

Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Land

Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Land

Andreas Panayiotou

Lead Supervising Professor:

Andreas Savvides Supervising Professors:

Dr Socrates Stratis Dr Io Carydi Tania El Khoury

Department of Architecture University of Cyprus 2019

Original Title: Chaining2 Design within Beirut’s Human Ecologies3: Experimental Chaining on our Collective Landscape4

Part of this work originally appeared with the title “Chaining2 Design within Beirut’s Human Ecologies3: Experimental Chaining on our Collective Landscape4”, on the ISUF 2019 series “Cities as Assemblages” and it is part of author’s thesis project for the title of Architect Engineer of the University of Cyprus, 2019.

Book Design:

Antonia Nikolaou Andreas Panayiotou Editing / Proofreading:

Nikoletta Shiakalli Temprioti Neoclis Soteriou

Copyright 2019, Antreas Panagiotou and University of Cyprus. © Printed 2020.

All rights reserved.

Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to lead supervisor, Prof. Andreas Savvides, for his guidance through each stage of the process. I would like to thank Dr Socrates Stratis for guiding me to his important publications, as well as introducing me and provoking me my interest for urban studies. I would like to express my appreciation to my supervisor Dr Io Carydi for her dedicated support and guidance, as the meetings and conversations were vital in inspiring me to critically understand the interdisciplinary perspective within urban, economic and landscape context. Many thanks to my supervisor, Prof. Tania el Khoury for her willingness to guide me through Beirut’s (hi)story and her to-the-point, realistic feedback.

I would like to express my gratefuleness to Dr Pelin Tan for shaping my critique and understanding on philosophical matters and her incredible reference library, which she shared with me. Many thanks to Dr Panos Manetos for his guidance and help on receiving ArcGIS data crucial to the research. My appreciation to Dr Olympia Nisiforou, Dr Yiannis Dialynas and Dr Marios Avraamides, whose short guidance and knowledge has been valuable throughout this study. I must express my thanks to those who formed my perspective about urbanity and Beirut through our discussions and feedback: Georges Salameh, Jad Bass, Alex., and Joseph Ayoub (for his permission for illustration reproduction).

This study would not be able without the support and aid of my friend Prof. Teresa Tourvas, the department’s technical-support Giorgos Vessiaris and Aimilios MIchael, my collegue friends that helped on developing practical matters of this study (alphabetically), Petros Christou, Stefanos Farmakis, Vanessa Nire, Ioannis Schinis and Raphaella Spanoudi. Lastly, I shall acknowledge those who made this book possible, Nicoletta Shiakalle Temprioti, Neoclis Soteriou and Antonia Nikolaou. Last but not least, special thanks to my close friend for all, her assistance, support and encour-agement, Keti Tanou as well to my lovely big family for their patience. With those publishers / copyright authors that we have not be able to get in touch please accept our apologies and thanks.

i

Abstract Urban morphology is now at an apex as those within the field are aiming to transform it in ways that fit into the emerging needs of the coming era. Through chaining of the ever-changing dynamic, relationships of human ecologies and their footprint over space may be examined. The proposal seeks to examine how space can trigger a domino effect, chaining the changes of human behavior and interaction over space. In order to achieve this end, a new architectural synergetic model is utilized influenced by disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, environmental psychology, policymaking, and free-market economics.

In this synergetic model, time works as a mechanism to bring change, as the project implies radical increment, Trojan horse-like strategies, mighty unfoldings and malleable ecology strategies, opening a series of – uncertain but more sustainable – possibilities for the future of the city. In this way, the project may become the turning point on the unpredictable chaos model of the city and its potential future. Policy making and socialization, alongside with the idea of time, become tools in creating the necessary protocols in order to prepare essential conditions and space, with possibility for underlying, existing and proposed human ecologies to take over. The spaces which would be provided by these policies and social norms, accompanied with the human cognition, encourages emerging camaraderie and cultural diversity, while discouraging urban conflicts. This is enforced through the medium of planned urban landscaping.

The landscape design of an area becomes the main transformative factor, as well as the “ground” on which all the processes, (cultural, financial and spatial regeneration) take place. In all, the proposal strives to utilize the very complex relationships, fluxes and uncertain behavioral reactions as an alternative tool, along with the factor of time, in creating a variety of possibilities and scenarios that may happen within an urban and architectural setting.

ii

Keywords Chaining, chaos theory, cultural diversity, environmental sustainability, productive land-cityscape, socioeconomics

1. Space of Negotiation and “Commons” 2. Autonomous Social and Spatial Area 3. Art and Physical Activity as a Sustainable Actor in Spatial Policy 4. Participatory and Active Approach 5. Staging Activities to Encourage or Discourage Mentalities 6. Interdisciplinary Approach 7. Potentials and Probabilities 8. Rethink of Topography and its Economics 9. Staging or Encouraging Activities to become Consciousness Shifters 10. Environmental Aspects 11. Civic Participation 12. Adaptability and Time Tool 13. Human Ecosystems 14. Urban Ecosystems 15. Environmental Sustainability into Social Regeneration 16. Chaos, Leak Point, Shift_Point 17. Productive Land-City_scape 18. Chaining or Domino Effect between Land, Ground, Environment, Ecosystem, Social System, Social Structures, Economy, PEOPLE 19. Identifiable Urban Groups but not Heterogeneous and not Homogenous 20. NO HUMAN’S LAND YET EVERYONE’S LAND

iii

Table of Contents

0. PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

i

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

i

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ii

Keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iii

Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iv

List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

v

Terminology and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

vii

Aphorisms and Considerations affecting the Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xviii

Principles and Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xxii

Personal Thoughts or Narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xxviii

1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8

Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

Approach and Main Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12

Study Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14

DISCUSSION 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

iv

2. ARCHITECTURAL URBANISM WITHIN BEIRUT’S CONTEXT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22

Historical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23

The City of Beirut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23

Quick Overview of Beirut’s History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25

The Cultural and Mental Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30

Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

32

The Area Under Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

34

Applied Hypothesis on the Area Under Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

38

Physical Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39

Productive_scape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

48

Human Ecologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53

DISCUSSION 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

57

3. GUIDING BEIRUT’S URBAN FUTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

62

Strategic Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

63

Methodology and Research Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

76

Mapping Analysis and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

80

Tools and Methods of Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

90

Environmental Design and Stream Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

95

Actors and “Attractors” Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

106

DISCUSSION 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

115

4. EXPECTED RESULT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

122

Urban Development through Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

123

Discussing the Actions Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

146

Outcome Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

148

DISCUSSION 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

157

5. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

162

6. REFERENCE PHOTOS AND FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

169

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

180

v

List of Figures ...................................................................................

xvi

Fig. 1:

Proposed Model of Study.

Fig.2:

London: Locals and Tourists by Eric Fischer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xxiv

“Trajects pendant un an d’une jeune fille du XVIe arrondissement” by P. H. C. de Lauwe. . . . .

xxiv

Fig.4:

Tim Duncan’s power forward movements by Luis, J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xxv

Fig.5:

Ball movement throughout the game Luis, J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xxv

Fig.6:

Perceptual model of time used on developing this study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xxx

Fig.7:

The Work Focus Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

Fig.8:

The Strategic Layering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

Fig.9:

The religious sects of Beirut by 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24

Fig.10:

The division of the two sects by 1841 after the fortification walls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27

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37

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37

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37

Fig.3:

Fig.11:

Initiatives Map.

Fig.12:

Initiatives Map Legend.

Fig.13:

Map of Beirut and the Area Under Study.

Fig.14:

3D Satellite view of Beirut.

Fig.15:

Area Under Study, District Divisions.

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42

Fig.16:

Beirut River Evolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43

Fig.17.A.: Beirut River by 1942.

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43

Fig.17.B.: Beirut River by 1900.

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43

Fig.17.C.: Canalized Beirut River today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43

Fig.18:

Beirut Canalized Stream today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

44

Fig.19:

Beirut Valley Flood Zone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45

Fig.20:

Beirut River most common image of polluted water.

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47

Fig.21:

Beirut River in 2012 with a dye disposal by an adjacent factory.

Fig.22:

Beirut River Garbage Rupture of 2016.

Fig.23:

Beirut River Canal work as Dump.

Fig.24: Fig.25:

Urban Grid and Network.

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50

Fig.26:

Financial Motives.

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50

Fig.27:

Abstract Despction of Religious Sects in Beirut.

Fig.28:

The Cognitive-Behavioral Model.

Fig.29:

A Matrix of Strategies to be Used or Avoided.

Fig.30:

The Approach Matrix between Recruited Disciplines.

Fig.31:

Map delivered by a Person when asked to map the Area.

Fig.32:

Map illustrating Landform Topography.

Fig.33:

Figure Ground of the chosen Site.

Fig.34:

Urban Morphology Analysis of the Chosen Area.

Fig.35:

Traffic / Speed Map.

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40-41

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47

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47

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47

Analysis of micro economies by AYOUB, Joseph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

49

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51 59 67-69

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67

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81

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82

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84

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85

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86

Fig.36:

Urban Grid / City Mesh Map.

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86

Fig.37:

Ground Floor Uses Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

87

Fig.38:

Spatial Memory / Visual Influence Map.

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87

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88

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88

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89

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89

Fig.39:

Surface Patchwork Map.

Fig.40:

Topography Map.

Fig.41:

Watershed Map.

Fig.42:

Flood Risk Map.

vi

Fig.43:

Potential Areas to Work On. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

90

Fig.44:

Urban Matrix Categorization Legend. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

95

Fig.45:

Urban Matrix.

Fig.46:

Layered Cake of the Watershed Region.

Fig.47:

Section of the Current Situation perpetual to the canalized stream.

Fig.48:

Extensive List of Chosen Plantation.

Fig.49:

Constructed Wetlands: Flood Models

Fig.50:

Model of the Naturalized Artificial Stream

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96-99 100

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102-103

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104-107

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108 110 111

Fig.51:

Model to be followed in Phytoremediating the Stream.

Fig.52:

Hybrid Formations on Ground while Managing Seasoning.

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114

Fig.53:

Sections showing the application of Attractors by Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

115

Fig.54:

Attractors Modules List.

Fig.55:

Hybrid Formations Categories Between Attractors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

119

Fig.56:

Applied Attractors Modules Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

120-121

Fig.57:

Hybrid Formations Between Attractors.

Fig.58:

The Development of Urban Elements in Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

132-133

Fig.59:

The Development in Time before the implementation.

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138-140

Fig.60:

The Development in Time during its 1st year of implementation.

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142-144

Fig.61:

The Development in Time during its 2nd year of implementation.

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146-148

Fig.62:

The Development in Time during its 4th year of implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

150-152

Fig.63:

The Development in Time during its 7th year of implementation.

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154-156

Fig.64:

The Development in Time during its 12th year of implementation.

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158-160

Fig.65:

The Development in Time during its 20th year of implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

162-164

Fig.66:

The Development in Time during its 33rd year of implementation.

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166-168

Fig.67:

Actions Strategic Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

171

Fig.68:

Map showing the exact Sections’ Position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

172

Fig.69:

Sections of the Current Situation of the canalized stream. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

173

Fig.70:

Section Mapping a Possible Future Scenario in scale 1:1000.

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116-118

122

172-173

Fig.71:

Perspective Illustration during the dry season.

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176

Fig.72:

Perspective Illustration during the wet season. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

177

Fig.73:

Illustrated Axonometric of the Future when Attractors Applied. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

178-179

Fig.74:

Satellite Map Image Illustrating a Possible Future Scenario. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

180

Fig.75:

Map Illustrating the Future Chain Series.

Fig.76:

Circles with selective references see Fig.77.

Fig.77:

Axonometric Illustration of Regional Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

198-199

Fig. A:

Abstract Collage for Cultural Metissage in Beirut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. B:

Generic Site Plots Analysis and Chosen Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. C:

Generic land-use map comparison between years 2016 and 2018. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. D:

Urban Prototype of the Trading area Souk’s Workshop.

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Fig. E:

Proposed Section of the Attachment of the Prototype modules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. F:

Plan of the Trading area Prototype showing the passages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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181 194-97

Fig. G:

The model of the Chosen Area overlapped with a map projection.

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Fig. H:

Physical Model of the Chosen Area in scale 1:2500. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. I:

Comparison of the imaginary proposal in three states.

Fig. J:

Abstract Sketch of a fractal Understanding of the Chosen Area.

Fig. K:

Quick understanding of the chosen area.

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134-135

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175

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Terminology and Definitions [As to be understood within the context of the following text and this specific study (but not necessarily as popularly understood)]

1.

City: in this case charged with the meaning of Polis (Greek: πόλις) a polis is a term far beyond the city. The spatial part of the city (the part that would include housing, a public space – square or Agora, and the public buildings – religious, administrative and state) would be called Asti (Greek: ἄστυ). Polis extends itself from space into its ontological aspect, that of being the result of society and its greatest actualization. A city under those terms can get the meaning of the city as a spatial and physical creation, the home-land or state-city, the state itself, the democratic (people hold the power) state or welfare state, the demos or the ensemble(total) of citizens and therefore citizen’s right or capacity.

“When several villages are united in a single complete community, large enough to be nearly or quite self-sufficing, the state comes into existence, originating in the bare needs of life, and continuing in existence for the sake of a good life. And therefore, if the earlier forms of society are natural, so is the sta., for it is the end of them, and the nature of a thing is its end. For what each thing is when fully developed, we call its nature, whether we are speaking of a man, a horse, or a family. Besides, the final cause and end of a thing is the best, and to be self-sufficing is the end and the best. Hence it is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal. And he who by nature and not by mere accident is without a state, is either a bad man or above humanity, he is like the -Tribeless, lawless, hearthless one, whom Homer denounces—the natural outcast is forthwith a lover of war; he may be compared to an isolated piece at draughts “ (Aristotle, Politics, 1999).

According to Aristotles a city / polis realized as a form of the first human coexistence. A city constitutes a perfect social entity with the aim of the greatest social actualization through its pragmatic needs of welfare and human livehood. For Aristotles first human coexistence (and therefore social groups) are by nature and not nurtured and a city only results from it and therefore it is natural by itself. A city is the very product of a human society at its completion.

A human is by nature. A human’s purpose is the completion and excellence. Similarly purpose of a city is the autarky, an aim that is excellent by itself, therefore a city is by nature. In addition to it a human is created to live in cities. Human is an ingredient or element of the city. Hence, a human not living in a city for him is either vicious (inferior) or superior (god). (Aristotle).

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Human is a political animal. To be a political animal you would need a society in order for the politics (as understood today to take place or as a democratic state as understood back at the time). That entails a city cannot exist without “human” presence or that human cannot accomplish oneself or “self-actualize” oneself without a city. When one talks about a political animal back at the time at no means s/he means the politics as a set of the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, mostly by parties having power. When someone was political it meant that (s)he would be engaged with the commons. Commons or collectives what was the consisted of the politics. Dialogue and preaching in turns in the agora, voting, following cultural events, such as theatre or fighting for the city would consist political actions. For this to be actualized the society is needed. In other words, for a human being to be political, s/he needs to be social, or belong to a human (social) group. That is for Aristotle a rule for the accomplishment of a human being, that is to live with other humans. And if that is true, consequently a human is social.

In order to run a society, politics or commons become the norms or “laws” ruling the society. Therefore, a human is political.

Now if a human is political (deriving from the ancient greek word of polis), this is another requirement for its existence through a city. Consequently, a city is its spatial entity, the human (citizens) it contains and thus the society it includes, as well as every act on commons, collectives and its “politics”. Why is this important today? Throughout the spatial disciplines the space is by many understood as the physical three-dimensional entity, many times denying the existence of time and the complexity of human nature and living nature (including both fauna and flora).

If we manage to understand that a city or a building does not realize itself in the absence of life (especially that of human) then there is a whole new point of view

that many of us deny in order to simplify or generalize the discipline and make it more approachable. Unfortunately, this leads to “no sense of design, no respect for humanity or for anything else” as “they are damn buildings and that’s it.” (Rosenfield, 2014, p. F. GHERY). Today, more than ever a city can be political. People are in general and most of the countries of the world, in some way to act and work on their wills and promote collectives. Internet is even more an equity tool to act towards that direction.

It is of great importance to understand that no-one engaged with the city making today is innocent as s/he carries an ideology by nature. Even a citizen carries an idea or an ideology on the subject of a city, even if s/he believes s/he is neutral and apolitical on the matter. Being political lies on the very existence of the city, which on its turn lies on the very existence of society. Ancient or prehistoric settlements or civilizations presenta hierarchy or a wall system on their structure and morphology, a thing that testifies a social ruling or politics or commons.

Finally, the idea of city as an artifact ( (ROSSI & EISENMAN, 1982) seems to confirm the idea of a polis, similarly to a work of art aiming to express the inner needs (and self-accomplish) an artist. The city as an artifact aims to express and self-accomplish both the physical and inner needs of its creators (including urban agents, actors and simple passive citizens, as even apathy seems to lead to a specific urban outcome). The city is created upon its collectives, as through time acquires consciousness and memory. In addition to a city’s morphological aspect, terminologies such as history, collective memory, permanence and experience become a knowledge closely connected to the creation of a city. This creation happens through evolutionary activities leading to the creation of the place, while the relationship between the public and private spheres is the one that results the urban life of a city entity. The closer the relationship of the two spheres is, the more urban life of the city entity is (ROSSI & EISENMAN) .

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2.

Chaining: Involves reinforcing individual responses occurring in a sequence to form a complex behavior. Chaining is the domino effect between conscious and subconscious, or unconscious behaviors leading to the reaction behavior of an actor (see below) towards either another actor or its scape (see below) within their ecologies.

3.

Human Ecologies: Ecology as defined by the Ecological Society of America (ESA) as the relationships between living, or biotic beings and their abiotic physical environment. Their study seeks to understand the vital interlink between animals (including humans), plants and their environment. Therefore Human Ecology can be understood as the relationship between humans and their environment, while the environment is perceived as an ecosystem (MARTEN, 2001, pp. 1-2). This exact ecosystem includes inorganic and organic matter, living organisms and natural and artificial (man-made) structures. An ecosystem acts beyond scale, as it can be as small as a field or as large as the universe itself. Human actions within the human ecology are better understood as the interrelationship between the ecosystem and human social structure. This human social system includes individual human behavior, psychology, social organization and the population itself, leaving an imprint on the ecosystem through these factors.

4.

Collective Landscape: Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe: “Man creates around him an environment that is a projection into nature of his abstract ideas.” The term was inspired

by Carl Jung’s use of the term collective unconscious, ‘collective landscape’ is therefore best understood as a landscape that exists in the collective unconscious and like other public goods, does not belong to any individual.

Collective landscape can be seen as the human-made environment that includes both spatial design and social norms, behavioral patterns and other official (state laws for a park or a square) or unofficial policies (to an extreme extend: a gang or mafia controlling a certain area).

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5.

Scape: The use of the scape here is to define an environment that an action or event of one or more actors, or their ecologies takes space.

It is the physical environment that all events or actions take place. An environment built – as artificial is the main focus of this study. An environment consists of any factor that affects the living organisms and human conducts, as well as the total of stimuli leading to a behavior.

Environment, although, cannot be understood as the physical space that actions take place, as that space cannot be meaningful a priori without the posteriori addition of a behavior.

Environment is the space within stimuli and actors take please, however one must also be careful as not to exclude unobserved stimuli reactions and therefore excluding environments (SYGGOLITOU, 1997).

Here a scape can be seen as the stage or stimuli space where events take place over space and time. As it is better to talk about environments, scape can by accompanied with a noun-adjective such as urban/ land/ rural/ town/ cityscape, etc. construing the hue, the stimuli or the visual image of it or narrowing its actors.

6.

Chaos: All systems examined ecologies, human ecologies or collective landscape (see def. 7) consisting of non-linear systems. These systems are not simple, as became understood in the beginning and middle of 20th century, rather they consist of major non-linear connections and relationships. In between those systems, small changes in their initial condition lead to drastic and vast changes in the final outcome. Those outcomes are unpredictable and they segue between ordered and disordered conditions. Additionally, if there is a feedback between the actors of a system then the system often becomes chaotic. This is created by conducting a simple process repeatedly in an ongoing feedback loop. Those dynamically changing systems, have sudden and radical changes, while two of its points / factors will eventually end up in very different positions after some time has elapsed. The best visual for such systems is the fractal, where a fractal is a never-ending infinitely complex pattern that is self-similar across different scales. Such chaotic systems include ecosystems, human societies and the stock market, as they are all deterministic while also inheritably unpredictable.

Chaos is satisfyingly describing the study’s chosen area in a very sophisticated way, where post-war mentality, socioeconomic inequality, nationalistic and religious beliefs, the memories of space, the actual physical fluctuations of the area as the entrance from Syria and Damascus to Beirut and tangible or more linear systems such as the river and the estuary, economic activities such as agriculture or the armatures as means of transportation and trading take place.

7.

Civic Ecosystems: Is described by the vast and rapid awareness of the fragility of urban ecosystems and human ecologies, that leads to the formation of a collective enterprise of reclaiming the public space, while garnering local support for initiatives of reclamation. In other words, is the gradual underlying need to educate and involve the local population at the community level. (FERGUSON, 2004, pp. 16-17)

8.

(Urban) Actor: An actor can be understood as any living organism that creates, develops or effects the ecologies, environmental ecologies, ecosystems, human ecologies or urban or social structures. An actor is active and reflexive on its conduct with other actors or their environment (natural or artificial). An actor can be any living organism living within ecology or more specifically in the case of an urban context, a human ecology that leads to decision-making, or effects the

development of the environment and the whole ecosystem chain.

Actors, in very rare occasions, can be abiotic factors that guide the living actors of the ecosystem.

Most of the times actors are aware of their actions on their day-to-day actions on their activity. They’re either conscious or subconscious in a practical level on their actions. All human agents are knowledgeable actors, while their action is always accompanied by the unconscious, while at the same time, by the unacknowledged conditions/unintended consequences of action.

(GIDDENS, 1986, pp. xix-xxi, 281-282).

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9.

Collectives or Commons: are a social structure by which human collaborate together to manage common wealth in a sustainable way. This wealth can be any kind of resources (e.g. natural, immaterial, cultural, etc.) that existed across the centuries and societies all over the world. Commons are at the same time one of the oldest ways that a community uses to manage and share resources world and had been rediscovered due to the advanced technology (e.g. internet) today.

Commons implies enclosures (the privatization of common wealth) and it dispossesses people that depended their living on such now “privatized” resources. Collectives or Commons call for a BOTTOM UP driven approach instead of a TOP DOWN-expert driven one. Collectives should be open sociably and participatory, although that is not usually the case.

System or a code? Collectives seem like a code of mutual understanding, communication, ideas, culture or rituals. Collectives are dealing more with social norms or policies, than laws or politics. They are a de facto state of actions or events (happenings), sometimes even against the official politics or laws, or as a product of activism or a general situation. Collectives seem more appropriate to be understood as a series of a communal code of managing and sharing resources, while encouraging or discouraging users to take part, but never forbidding them to become a member of those.

Resources are items or substances that have value to human lives. Resources only exist on a space-time reference (they exist in a specified topological space and in a specific era, epoch or moment in time). Those resources are shared among a group of people, community and they require the existence of a cultural entity or a social identity. The resources can be material or immaterial. Man-made resources do not occur in the natural world.

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Common pool resources (Elinor Ostrom) are an artificial or natural system that is costly due to its size or characteristics, yet not impossible to exclude beneficiaries from obtaining it. The common recourses have a limited possibility blocking the access to them, while in the private resources that is almost a requirement.

Garrett Hardin suggests that in order to avoid problems of congestion or overuse, because resources are subtractable one should solve it through privatization or nationalization. E. Ostrom proposes another way of managing, that of the communityization (collective or common use) of the resources. While G. Hardin’s proposals seem to limit the rights and actions of the users and destroy the personal relationships that characterize local communities, while –long termreducing resource efficiency and damaging society, E. Ostrom’s proposal seems to empower those relationships and becoming a sustainable system both socially and productively.

Resources’ examples include time, air, water, crops, wood, oil, fuels, wind energy, natural gas, iron, and coal as natural and plastic, paper, soda, sheet metal, rubber, medicines and brass as man-made.

City as a by nature creation of human with aim human’s self-accomplishment (as explained above) is a resource to be shared among humanity.

Resources are the stuff of which the future is made. The city itself is a resource, as it opens up a wide range of possibilities for every individual and for society as a whole. The city is not an inexhaustible resource, however. Only if it is used in a sustainable way and if it does not solely serve short-term, isolated interests, can it also fulfill the needs of future generations. The biggest challenge for contemporary urban design is, therefore, to plan the city itself as a regenerative cycle, not only in terms of shaping its spatial and aesthetic qualities, but also in relation to its development over time (Chair of Prof. CHRISTIAANSE & ETH Zyrich, 2018).

10.

Park: A park is the total of stimuli in a specified public area with a major focus given to the open space and usually natural factors.

Actors within a park include the plants, the water systems, the non-human animals, microorganisms etc. While at least one human ecology must be obvious within that designated area.

A park goes beyond the space, including, social norms, politics (if owned by a state) and it is usually having a defined use, such as recreational parks, industrial parks and residential park. For the needs of this study, a park can be understood as an extensive network of spaces with main focus on natural elements, while offering many different activities, with stimuli similar to squares or the ancient agora. This space network includes of social and perceptual symbolisms, natural elements, physical spaces for recreation and amusement, knowledge’s and ideas or ideologies exchange, social exchange and interaction, commercial or services trade. While behaviors such as the exchange of illicit or contraband goods, as well as the solicitation of sex or other controversial activities are not only inevitable but also to an extent welcomed in specific timing. In this way, the term may be applied loosely.

11.

Neotectural City: [The term is deriving from ancient Greek: νεότευκτος (neótefktos) νέος (new) + τεύχω (construct)] A city that has recently experienced either a man-made destruction or natural disaster and is in need of large-scale reconstruction. The term implies the word “new” therefore it has a time scheme and a limitation to the Era. Neotectural cities can be considered to include Berlin, Germany and Warsaw, Poland after World War II, as well as Port-au-Prince, Haiti after earthquake and Beirut, Lebanon after the Lebanese Civil War. This term, for the purposes of this study, will also be applied to cities that may likely become neotectural in the future, such as Nicosia and Famagusta, Cyprus, conditional upon a settlement agreement.

All in all, neotectural term implies a timed condition.

There are three major factors turning an existing city into a neotectural. First, is a destruction manmade (e.g. War, Civil War, bombings, etc) or natural (e.g. tsunami, fire, storm or hurricane, etc.). Such examples are the cities of Warsaw or Beirut, as manmade destroyed and Haiti for naturally destroyed. Second an addition or a removal of an important element in the city could cause that change into a neotectural such as the Berlin Wall removal or the addition (and the domino changes) in the city of Bilbao after the Guggenheim Museum. Third, reshaping the city into “contemporary” standards can turn a city into its neotectural conditions. Examples are the city of Paris after Haussmann’s plan of re-shaping the streets, closing the narrowa passages and importing the avenues, New York with its grid, Dubai or Abu Dhabi after rejecting their previous identity in search of a new one, or Barcelona’s expansion after Serda’s master plan, with emphasis on the grid and the diagonals.

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12.

Environmental Psychology: Is an interdisciplinary field focusing on the interrelationship between individuals and their surroundings. The field defines the term environment broadly, encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments. Environment influences behavior at different levels.

Immediate behavior is a function of the setting in which it occurs. Population stress and the poor artificial character of urban conditions are said to be primary contributing factors in regard to increased rates of crime and incidence of mental disorders among people living in urban areas.

13.

Applied Environmental Psychology: Attempts to provide norms for better management of the environment, as well as for better life and personal development. This field of psychology aims to study effective manners of environmental conservation and better ways of designing buildings, towns and cities. In doing so, it seeks to take into consideration the behavioral and social needs and responses of people within that area. (http://www.psychology4all.com/ environmentalpsychology.htm)

14.

Makeshift (city): Implies a temporary or expedient substitute for something missing, as well as the designing act of shifting or reinterpretation as a form of détournement (the integration of present or past artistic productions into a superior construction of a milieu.) and presents the permanent condition of becoming.

(FERGUSON, 2004)

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15.

Syghrotism: (Συγχρωτισμός): Deriving from Ancient Greek syn (σύν) + chros (χρώς) meaning close social contact / literal meaning same skin / corresponding English word: Comradeship (Cambridge Dictionary): the feeling of friendship between people who live or work together, especially in a difficult situation – relatively close in meaning. Sygchrotism implies a sense of space that is absent in the term comradeship. Sychrotism is communicating or coming to a contact with someone on the same space, while it is not restricted to the friendship or friendly feeling between them, rather it describes an interaction with a positive hue (although not strictly).

16.

Syghoresis: (Συγχώρεση): From Ancient Greek syn (σύν) + choreo (χωρέω) meaning creating space for more people to fit in.

It implies a meaning of bringing people from different background together both physically into the same space and beyond that, to be able to peacefully and mutually enjoy their spatial environment.

17.

Human to Space Relationship and the Space to Human Relationship: While the first may be easily recognizable as a master plan that could divide an urban area into social group areas or enclaves, the second statement is much less tangible. An example of this would be the imaginary situation of placing two cats in a room. If the first cat had been already in the room for some time before the second cat enters the room then the behavioral reaction of the first cat, as well as the second cat will most likely be aggressive. If one were to then place the same two cats in a room together at the same time, then the behavioral reaction of the two cats would most likely be inconsistent with that of the previous behavioral observation.

18.

City as a Fractal: the fractal city is not a “fresh” one.

Fractal by Merriam-Webster is defined as any of various extremely irregular curves or shapes for which any suitably chosen part is similar in shape to a given larger or smaller part when magnified or reduced to the same size. The idea of a fractal city as a morphological solution, a pretty unpopular proposal surfaces with the ideas of “machine city” and in a period that modernism was becoming a fully orthological approach. In order to avoid that sterile approach of modernism, some great studios tried to defend it through ideas that would more inclusive than exclusive to factors, actors and agents that might affect the result and “harden” the situation. Edward Soja addresses the issues of intra-urban inequalities as well as cultural and ethnic diversity through the idea of a fractal city. With the term, E. Soja describes the social mosaic of the urban_scape, while he focuses on intensified inequalities and social polarization and its structured social geometry. The problem with the above terminologies is that are both mostly refering to the American cities, the armatures and connectivity infrastuctrues in the first case or the social inequality in the second case.

For the needs of this study, fractal and city as fractal shall be understood as a series of considerations that while the physical scale of an area examined changes, the considerations of it remain the same. Those considerations might discuss different affectural factors or different solutions/ answers to a specific consideration. Here fractal is no longer a geometrical factor, rather a way of thinking in between scales. If a question is arising for a tiny part of urbanity, that exact question can be applied (maybe more abstract) in the greater scale of a city or even a whole grouping of cities whithin or abroad a country and vice versa. The fractality of the thinking lies upon applying all those considerations one might have across any kind of given scale and considereing that its structure (physical or mental, morphological or social, tangible or financial) is pretty similar along with the scales.

The only difference is the degree of affection or the agents, actors affecting, resulting though, similar effects and final situtations.

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19.

Architectural level: (As seen in the diagram below) Architecture is a discipline (maybe the only one) that cannot in any case, stand by its own. 20th and 21st century discussions on architecture seem to accept this statement as they refer to the terms such as: events (B. Tschumi), junk space (, R. Koolhaas) or freespace (Y. Farrell & S. McNamara).

This clarifies the opinion that architecture is a continuation in between scales and disciplines affecting them and being affected by them. On a miniscule scale someone could find terminologies such as personal space and environmental psychology, while in a greater scale phenomenology, global politics or even quantum mechanics seem to be constructing the “space� that architecture lies within. (see diagram above) That might be translated as an a priori mechanism of human behavior and a posteriori knowledge encoding the space which humans lives in.

Fig. 1: Diagram showing understanding of the discipline and proposed model for the study

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Aphorisms and Considerations Affecting the Methodology

The greatest achievements are based upon great misunderstandings of the past or great dreams over the future.

Many times misunderstanding or challenging previous knowledge leads to new paths yet to be uncovered. Previous knowledge may be handy but not always as truth certified.

Science is many times deceived by what is understood only by human perception and understanding, misleading into strictly orthodox (GIDDENS, 1986) or rational paths, only to be failed by the human mind. Many miniscule, underlying or newly developed “subterranean” relationships go unnoticed or neglected due to a rational way of observing “tactual” things to be led to a conclusion. In between all those tangible observations is always a small portion of unobserved dynamics the are linked or associated, leaving the observer unable to observe them at one’s contemporary time, rather can – those relationships – be understood years later as sensitive correlations between actors and actors, actors and scape or scape and scape.

A complete work of art is a documentation of dominance and totalitarianism.

A philosophical phrase deriving through the works of T.W. Adorno and M. Heidegger discusses how prior knowledge used in an inverted way, as a mechanism to control or to control avoiding some actions is actually forcing itself as the only truth or method for an action to be delivered.

The world is in a flux is one of the fundamental truths in both philosophy and science.

As philosophy can be seen as the search for the static point behind the physical change, in a way that the cosmos is the scape on which everything is in a flux, while human tries to understand everything through human perception and cognition. Cosmos was described by Heraclitus as a ball of fire, not because a naturalistic belief, rather as a visual for its chaotic nature as described on Terminology and Definitions above. A complete work of art, or anything human made, if you wish, is a way that human being wants to impose its rule over nature or other human. Using knowledge to strictly impose human ideas or positions is a-physical and leads to a greater deviation from the system’s initial conditions. Knowledge in a physical world or human ecosystems always implies a form of politics, that can be used as propaganda to achieve, encourage or discourage human relations, behaviors or actions to the system of human ecology.

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Nothing is A-Political (apolitical).

As Aristotle stated “human is by nature a social animal”. Aristotle was referring to the innate need of human beings to constitute collectives (human ecologies or ecosystems).

Human Ecologies and sociocultural schemes, beginning from first human settlements show a hierarchy in space and therefore in the social structure. This brings the argument that anything including human in its equation with a complex trajectory defining a nuanced response to culture that cannot be explained away by essentialist identity politics or historicizing agendas (PYLA, 2007).

In addition, Aristotle in his scripts “Politics”, emphasizes on how a state facilitates social engagement and supports the integration of individuals (as social animals) into the social fabric and its realities. Those sociocultural preferences, bring us to politics.

Nothing that includes a human being in it can exclude an idea or ideological “politics” agenda.

Last but not least, architecture is not innocent, and never was ideologically neutral. (TSCHUMI, 1996).

Therefore, whatever is designed or proposed throughout this study is far from innocent. It holds a political agenda, based on the daily life of the locals, area’s economic growth, future historical monumentality of the space and the wellbeing of citizens above a government that applies its political agenda over its people. This project acts as a Trojan Horse on bringing the change and bridging or stitching cracks on both the spatial urban fabric, the time gap and the mentality or the perception cracks on the space-n-time framework of the social structure and membrane.

“The irrationality of a thing is no argument against its existence, rather a condition of it” F. W. Nietzsche The human brain controls the ideas, ideologies and perception of reality, including both space and time. Many of the arguments here are not scientifically approved but, just because a thing exists and there is no rational explanation for it does not provide an argument for its non-existence. The criteria for rationality/irrationality is within the human experience.

Humans do not find rationality in the physical world, but they we actively construct the concept of rationality, in order to make the world confirm their concepts of reality.

“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different?” Attributed to C.S.Lewis The differences in spatial politics and urbanity as terms of sociocultural mentality, finances and environmental sustainability cannot be perceived as a day to day or step by step change.

The actors are not able to notice the small changes happening in time, apart from those that happen on the physical understanding of the city. The change can only be understood after years as part of the contemporary history. Many mild differences on space can bring enormous changes in time, in anthropological or social behavior, psychological aspects and mentality structures of the whole “community”.

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“All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.” Attributed to A. Doumas Generalizing is very important in simplifying chaotic systems. On a first hand, this simplification, is very important in solving anthropological or social problems, while on the other hand, is many times dangerous as it provokes specific norms or stereotypes. Anyhow, those generalizations are very similar to the assumptions made in mathematics or physics, in order to solve a problem. The difference there is the result. While in mathematics or physics any generalized assumption does not give important changes rather a small deviation from the actual number, in social terms and after the understanding of chaos those generalizations as a tool for designing space can promote behaviors, rather unwanted from the designing or application team. The generalizations are also limited and in a similar way ratio or reason cannot predict them. As the game theory goes, strategic interaction between rational decision-makers finds its limit in its environmental complexity and a decision-maker that rejects one’s interest over other’s interest, the common interest or in factors such as health or emotions (especially emotions such as love or family connections)

“Music is liquid architecture; architecture is frozen music” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Vitruvius in his books “De Architectura” asserts that there were three principles of good architecture: 1. Firmatis (Durability) – It should stand up robustly and remain in good condition, 2. Utilitas (Utility) – It should be useful and function well for the people using it, 3. Venustatis (Beauty) – It should delight people and raise their spirits. Therefore, someone can perceive the form as frozen music, but the essence is that architecture is more talkative than music.

Architecture is not limited to time, while music lies almost limited to the time someone can listen to the song patter, remember it on the physical time of the song played. Architecture’s and urbanism’s impact is far greater as it reaches more people, in time, experiences literally the decay of human nature and literally experiences, the footprints of new era ideas and conceptions, new generations and visitors.

Bipolar Notions Aesthetics is not a dipole. It has a scale, as it is not only subjective. It is also objective, at least up to a degree. Ration is similar. If ration was objective then arguments would not exist, therefore it is not objective. If ration was only subjective, people would not be able to communicate.

Truth lies in between.

Nothing can be either black or white. There is always a scale in between. Some people can perceive more “in between” situations, similarly to the perception differentiations to color that bees or humans can perceive. The truth of the living-world lies always in this in between gradation, while it is easy for different people to perceive it differently.

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Principles and Assumptions 1.

The urban system is a chaotic system.

Chaos is when the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future. In general chaos means a state of disorder.

By R.L. Devaney a system behavior to be characterized as chaotic, the following properties are necessary: a. sensitive dependence on the original conditions.* b. must be topologically transient (or any two open sets, some points from one set will eventually hit the other set). c. must display a dense set consisting of all the system’s periodic trajectories.

An urban system is extremely sensitive on the initial conditions. The urban system does not exist without the human behavior and the urban actors. Well known through psychology and social sciences such as sociology or anthropology, the urban actors (people) themselves are behaving on many different stimuli.

The act on given spatial forms, politics and policies is effected by global events, financial potentiality effects the urban development, while sometimes overlaps the actual need of its people, which leads to demonstrations and confrontation.

The sets of systems within the urban system are always overlapping. As stated above, a change on a local or a global scale can affect the whole system’s topology.

This means for example that a change on the trading system will affect the amenities system and therefore the

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spatial footprint or interpretation of the social patterns that express each system. Therefore, the two systems will eventually “hit” each other.

In addition - and more literally - urbanity is always changing its physical spatial form and therefore the behavior of the system has topological transient, maybe not as meant by even sciences but more in a literal, yet philosophical transition. We can consider the main trading district or the “center” of the city as an example. Both are moving into the topographical place, which has greater potential by time and era, while other changes such us a popular entertainment center, a new trading center or a new trans-local infrastructure (such as an airport or a port) can change the dynamics between the motilities of the urban fabric over time.

Here I am augmenting based on my personal experience and examples I was raised with.

Limassol, a city in Cyprus, had been located on Amathus area, which Richard the Lionheart destroyed in 1191 A.D. , forcing the city to move to its current position. By the 1980s and 90s the city’s main entertainment center was what is known as the “tourist area”, whereas by the new millennia the potentials changed, during the change of tourist preferences of Scandinavian and other tourists, as well as the new economic systems, new projects of urbanity etc., moving the city’s center to the Medieval Castle area and some years later to its contemporary extension of seafront Molos periphery.

The behaviors of trading or social gathering are in themselves individual orbits (or trajectories), as they simultaneously form a part of the urban system. Each trajectory is orbits around specific attraction poles. For example, the trading system orbits around poles such as ports, commercial centers or trading streets or neighborhoods. Social gatherings usually orbit around activity networks, places that allow a sense of security, open spaces and of artificial environment usually linked to commercial, political or religious systems.

Moreover, each and every urban actor can be considered as a unique trajectory of a point or set to the system. (see fig. 2-5 below) and, therefore, that set of multiple unique urban actors can be identified as a topological space and therefore a dense set, with more or less, periodical trajectories. Following the above, an urban system can be characterized as a chaotic or dynamical (disordered) system by R.L. Devaney. * The requirement for sensitive dependence on the initial conditions implies that there is a series of initial conditions with a future effect (positive measure) that do not converge over a specific known result or periodic behavior of any time or spatial schedule (period of any length). [rephrase of the scientific explanation].

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Fig.2: London: Locals and Tourists by Eric Fischer (Oakland-based artist and software developer). Tourists and locals experience cities in strikingly different ways the map is based on where each group takes photos.

Fig.3: Routes taken during one year by a female student living in the 16th arrondissement of Paris / Paul Henry Chombart de Lauwe, 1952.

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Fig.4: Tim Duncan’s power forward movements (Luis, 2014).

On a simplified system such as the movements of a unique player during a sports match the trajectory or orbit is very clear. The movement of the player is gathered around specific points or patterns creating a set of periodical trajectories on a topographical transient.

Fig.5: Ball movement throughout the game (Luis, 2014).

On a more complex system, that of a ball moving on a sports court during a sports match, with the trajectories to be based on each specific moment of the initial place of the ball (therefore a different ball placement would bring a different result) the system becomes more chaotic, yet implies movement around some attraction poles (in this example the goal nets). Similarly, the urban system implies similar behavior on a more complex scale.

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2.

This study is perceived upon a basis of a simplified, yet very complex and open makeshift (see term&def.13) planning.

All sciences are based upon assumptions in order to be able to process complex things or systems. The generalizations first made are then translated into conclusions and verified upon many different systems that the assumption was first based upon. In this study is examined a specific space in more generalized terms, that could apply in many similar occasions and examples, yet is very locally specific. Although this happens, the methodology or ideology (if preferred) used is universal and catholic. The extremely complicated urban systems of the area are simplified into many activity networks, social groupings in a less detailed way (in order to be as objective as possible, without compromising any of the groups), polarities and dynamic systems. Along these lines, someone is able to examine them as objectified mechanisms that will produce their own spaces and bring the makeshift and bottom_up participatory planning, that the area is in need of, at any given time or era.

The planner rejects the identity role as a designer and becomes an arranger, or a “maestro�, of urban dynamics, civic fluctuations, polarities, social norms or policies and underlying potentials that one can observe at each given area at each specific time.

In that way, the planner is not expressing formally and deterministically the existing social structure, but rather the planner acts upon a basis that uses spatial disciplines as a tool of disputing its existing structure and revising its future one, with unpredictable results guided by the new potentials, policies, new fluxes and attractors he manages to establish.

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Spatial changes effect behavioral patterns or trajectories.

In psychology it is generally accepted that the group dynamic is the result of the individual dynamics of the members, where each individual reproduces the group dynamics on a different scale, and the chaotic behavior of the group is reflected on each member. In the urban scale, the system dynamic shall be the result of the dynamics of each set of urban actors and their reaction on spatial dynamics and polarities.

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4.

Embrace the chaotic model and work with it.

It is given, as argued above, the assumption that any urban system at any given time is a chaotic and dynamic system. Therefore, one cannot change its properties, rather than accept them, embrace them and use them at its own right. The chaos model not only confirms the fundamental and self-evident truth of being, that everything changes (ta panta rhei), but provides us a solution on the rhetoric of the steady factor behind any perpetual change. The chaos model conveys a system that is disordered, yet it always follows a given trajectory, whereas effects of each set of different set of actors and differentiations on initial condition provide different results. Therefore, one cannot control the result, but one can be able of guiding it.

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Strange attractors.

In order to guide that system one needs to advocate creative ways of incorporating uncertainty and irresolution into urban planning. The idea of collectives among others can be considered as attractors for re-engaging with the city-making in order to create urban continuity and cohesion. Other ways can be considered the strategic approaches of radical increment, trojan horse, mighty unfoldings and malleable ecology strategies, that allow the confrontation of transition as a constant urban uncertainty (STRATIS, 2014).

The idea of attractors makes it no predictable, rather than measurable factors that play an active role on guiding the change.

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Personal Thoughts or Narratives

Seeking on the theme of divided cities the most appealing, for me, would be the one in my homeland Cyprus. That would be either the city of Nicosia or the city of Famagusta. The dilemma there, would be that I would be incapable of observing the situation from a top view and equitably. I would rather be emotionally driven on my attempt to be as objective as possible. In the search for other similar urban conditions, one would confront the cities of Belfast – Northern Ireland, Mostar – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jerusalem – ongoing confrontation between the states of Israel and Palestine, Beirut - Lebanon, Berlin – Previously divided into East and West Berlin, Cincinnati – Covington Divided between Ohio and Kentucky respectively, Nogales – divided into Nogales Sonora Mexico and Nogales Arizona USA, El Paso del Norte – divided into El Paso Texas USA and Ciudad Juárez Mexico. Among those choices, the first five cities are more mentally divided and the latter three more physically divided.

Having those cities in mind, I came to the conclusion that I should choose the most familiar one and one that I would act on a mental level, rather than a physical. That choice was quite easy, as I had previously worked in Beirut and had friends and contacts there that were able to help me.

Although, that is true, the main reason for choosing Beirut was that I could experience many similarities on the mental and social structures between Cyprus and Lebanon. In Beirut, I could now prepare my proposal as I would do for the society of Cyprus but be much more objective on the results, while extremely sensitive on issues that could bother the ones experiencing at first hand this partition.

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Consequently, along this study, the integration between the human and the environment will be investigated. That means going through the relationships between human and human, human and nature, nature and human, human and artificial environment as well as artificial environment and human. This, drives the need to examine a new architectural synergetic model running through disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychology and environmental psychology, politics and policy making, economy and free market economics etc. and their relationship to spatial disciplines, such as architecture, planning, urbanism, service design and fine arts (e.g. performance acts, or public art).

A more generic statement, would be that on the first hand there is an effort to investigate the relationship between how humans affect space and through human policies affecting the social structure.

On the other hand, is the effort to examine how space can effect by a chaining effect, the domino changes of human behavior and interaction with and within space.

This dual relationship could not possibly be a linear process, rather than a dynamic relationship on developing or re-developing social structures and therefore re-constructing a city and design an urban_scape.

This Sisyphean task cannot result an understanding of its wholeness and therefore cannot be designed as such. This happens at least on a basis that, on the time contemporary to me, knowledge feasible through the Global Secretariat cannot explain many uncertain behavioral reactions, while rejects the idea that the chaos can be predicted. Therefore, the aim of this study, is not to design a project that can work on this very complex relationships, rather than a project that derives from those two poles and extends itself, in a vast number of possibilities and scenarios that could happen on an architectural level.

Bearing that in mind, this proposal aims to set new policies or to “cultivate� new social norms, while through spatial design, to approach human nature on a psychological level (applied environmental psychology or spatial cognition and memory studies) and design a space that encourages the sychrotism (comradeship) and sygchoresis (cultural and social metissage on the same place), whereas at the same time discouraging any conflicts by strategies developed during this study.

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events axis* time axis**

* as explained by B.Tschumi ** as found in Quantum Physics

Fig. 6: This schematic provides the perceptual model used on developing this study.

Diagram by the Author.

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As B. Tschumi stated there is no architecture without events, actions or activity and architecture cannot be dissociated from the events that take place within it and the movements of the living beings that inhabit it (TSCHUMI, 1996).

Space perceived by Tschumi is a system of points on a surface at the expense of the mutual, indifferent, or even conflicting relationship of venues and events within that surface’s space. In this case, the concept is the repositioning of the concepts of time and space on the 21st century.

Is very clear how one can see linear structure of big and small events, important or subsidiary, big scale – global events and small scale – local events. That is pictured on the event axis on the above diagram (fig. 6.). This sequence of events can at any point be considered as past, present of future by the placement of a point on it. On the other axis (time axis) is positioned the concept of time. This has changed over the last Quantum theories as a series of possibilities on the space-time continuum. Time is revised as a sequence of repetitive motives, similar abstract events taking place at any possible given time point, while all the events are happening at the same time on this axis.

Time now looks more familiar through Far East philosophies or the concept of the Mayan Calendar, as a series of moments in time that similarly repeat themselves resulting multiple future possibilities and probabilities.

In this study this concept is used as the basis upon the methodology of designing in created. The point above is the leak point where the initial conditions effect the current situation and the point which this project strives to provide on the area chosen.

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“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth Is a revolutionary act�

George Orwell

1. INTRODUCTION SURVEY ON THE PROBLEMATIC

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Once, it was said that “the city is a creation of nature, and that human is by nature a social animal1. And s/he who by nature and not by mere accident is without a city is either a vicious2 human or above humanity3.” Aristotle was referring to the entity of a city as a tangible and natural structure of creation surfacing from the innate need of human beings to constitute collectives (human ecologies or ecosystems). Furthermore, he emphasizes how a state facilitate social engagement and support the integration of individuals (as social animals) into the social fabric and its realities. An individual living outside the boundaries of social activity and interaction is either considered vicious or “god”.

Those collectives and their relation towards non-living systems, such as the topography or the hydrological system, natural and artificial ecosystems and landscapes of an area, are those that describe the real nature of space in terms of community, society, anthropological scope and the coexistence with its natural forms of the Anthropocene. Those factors are engaged in the development of a new urban designing methodology, that is sensitive and responsive not only to current urban problematic, but in its uncertain future expressions on space and the experimental application of it on a chosen area.

This project aims to become a spatial Manifestation on what occurs when missing links within a current urban tissue chains, such as production chains, social chains, infrastructural chains, cultural chains and chains of contestation or ambiguous chains, are connected. What is resulted after the elaboration and/or overlap across the topological expression of those value chains when relinked is what gives the potentiality and probability for the future of a city, its collectives and its Anthropocene.

1 social animal here as sociopolitical (living) being or entity or organism, where political refers to social hierarchy and structure, not as understood today rather as a primitive situation of first human settlement or tribal leadership structures 2 vicious human should be understood through the Ancient Greek perspective where a human placed itself outside society lives a miserable and reprehensible life, as human is only being self-accomplished through the interaction with other and its result, that of a polis (city) 3 above humanity or ‘god’ meaning that this specific human can leave and self-accomplish without a society or the need of other human beings.

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Background

Once, it was said that “the city is a creation of nature, and that human is by nature a social animal1. And s/he who by nature and not by mere accident is without a city is either a vicious2 human or above humanity3.” Aristotle was referring to the entity of a city as a tangible and natural structure of creation surfacing from the innate need of human beings to constitute collectives (human ecologies or ecosystems). Furthermore, he emphasizes how a state facilitate social engagement and support the integration of individuals (as social animals) into the social fabric and its realities. An individual living outside the boundaries of social activity and interaction is either considered vicious or “god”.

Those collectives and their relation towards non-living systems, such as the topography or the hydrological system, natural and artificial ecosystems and landscapes of an area, are those that describe the real nature of space in terms of community, society, anthropological scope and the coexistence with its natural forms of the Anthropocene. Those factors are engaged in the development of a new urban designing methodology, that is sensitive and responsive not only to current urban problematic, but in its uncertain future expressions on space and the experimental application of it on a chosen area.

This project aims to become a spatial Manifestation on what occurs when missing links within a current urban tissue chains, such as production chains, social chains, infrastructural chains, cultural chains and chains of contestation or ambiguous chains, are connected. What is resulted after the elaboration and/or overlap across the topological expression of those value chains when relinked is what gives the potentiality and probability for the future of a city, its collectives and its Anthropocene.

The contemporary city planning is a discipline experiencing ongoing development. Although this happens, it is such a major trend that town planning departments, all over the globe, are using design methodologies that follow a top-down approach.

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This top-down approach declines to search for the hidden underlying factors, and is unable to explore human relations or work with ecosystems that are usually ignored within an anthropocentric system¡ that denies to realize its name.

Moreover, on top-down approaches there is a variety of moves by architects according to their political or ideological tendencies (TSCHUMI, 1996). In other words, there is a political agenda served by the architects, while the locals or the natural systems of the urban site are never actually answered or even addressed.

In order to perceive something, architects and urbanists tend to refer to conceptualization as a method of designing.

Conceptualization is a permanently tentative method, in which data information and various viewpoints are analyzed and synthesized into a responsive comprehensive and coherent spatial concept. This concept although, lies upon the formulation of basic fictions desires, intentions and hopes within a negotiated space.

(WEISS, 2017, pp. 44-51- A. BETSKY) Urban planning more than any other kind of design within the architectural practice needs to reinvent itself and not only arise with a responsive plan to contextual information and disparate viewpoints on society living and urban fabric, rather than to become a tool for social criticism and social change.

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Context The main focus of this study towards the spatial design disciplines is a reinterpretation of its design procession, contextual information analysis. Furthermore, an objective is the change of a specific spatial viewpoint into a more various scope with the incorporation of divergent viewpoints and scopes from other disciplines. This happens in order to provoke a spatial negotiation of planning with its living environment.

This spatial Manifestation is a proposed process to be followed by consecutive master plans in time while it is dealing with onsite approach and participatory design. It is a proposal seemingly against the sterile town planning master plans, but it rather incorporates new perspectives into it. This is a prosthetic procedure that does not change the concept of planning or designing but its effect on the physical form and spatial expression and the collectives’ negotiation with politics, economy and society.

This is not a new idea, but rather one that derives from modern4 (or as a critique to modern) and postmodern5 considerations. As stated “I welcome the problems and exploit the uncertainties. Architects can no longer afford to be intimated by the puritanically moral language of Orthodox are hybrid rather than ‘pure’, compromising rather than ‘clean’, distorted rather than ‘straightforward’, ambiguous rather than ‘articulated’, perverse as well as impersonal, boring as well as ‘interesting’, conventional rather than ‘designed’, accommodating rather than excluding, redundant rather than simple, vestigial as well as innovating, inconsistent and equivocal rather than direct and clear” (VENTURI & SCULLY, 1977).

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The idea of the proposed design lies on how Anthropocene can be used in order to accommodate or produce human ecologies or how human ecologies and civic ecosystems overtake the Anthropocene in a sustainable6 matter. Consequently, this design process examines how the collective landscapes are formed and how those can be guided through a series of chaining effects, by only changing the initial conditions to any urban chaotic system.

By changing our attitude as designers and becoming willing to be less ambitious and more modest, we are still able to outcome some very useful predictions on the urban futures. The only requirement is a different view on determinism. There is no more reason to forecast the future of an urban project amongst a chaotic city. Instead we should rather look for a probability or a series of possibilities on its urban futures, incorporating uncertainty into their response.

The purpose of the forecast is no longer to determine the behavior of the actors in a specific time in the future, for that is impossible, rather to try and predict possible scenario outcomes and study the systems’ behavior sensitive to “tiny” or “insignificant” attractors. Applying, probabilities rather than certainties that is a real change in one’s perspective. By applying those ideas, there is a whole world between theory and practice that needs to be examined.

modernism in the arts and architecture is a radical break with the past and the concurrent search for new forms of expression. Modernism fostered a period of experimentation in the arts and architecture from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, particularly in the years following World War I. (Encyclopedia Britannica) 5 postmodernism in arts and architecture is a movement developed between mid to late 20th century as a critique and reinvention of the values of modernism.

6 sustainable matter towards people, environment, economical sustainability, the possibility of the future, there is a whole debate taking in. And again towards which social or financial group of people, and so on. It looks pretty much as a neverending fractal considerations debate, a designer should be aware of in order to be able to negotiate the best possible solution between all the actors, agents and Anthropocene envolved.

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Purpose An approach that emphasizes on the dynamic relationships and fluctuations or fluxes through time and their effects in society, civilization, economy, sustainable development and environment.

This study examines, how can a critic on the masterplan or spatial (town) planning provide with an alternative concept of designing. This alternative concept needs to approach the city with a more complex system of analysis7, in order to provide a planning that is conscious towards environment, human ecologies and civic dynamic ecosystems, without excluding the actors’ participation on designing.

In a case of conflicted sensitive mentality, into an area with memories of spatial division and contradiction, is examined how almost insignificant and momentous changes (or better a combination of the two) can change collective memory8 and its collective landscape.

Through this study, there is a try to combine a very primitive way of thinking about future human behavior with the complex concepts of time and spatial qualities that allow syghoresis.

Ideas such as the possibility of temporariness or time scheduling events might answer how people from different socio-economic backgrounds can comrade.

The possibility of an all questioning project can be more adaptable into the urban needs of each time period, while adjusting the land value and therefore forming new dynamics in space. There is the possibility of agendas not allowing the urban form take the actual demos’ 9 (peoples’) hue, therefore we need to find a way of designing and adapting into the procedures that overcomes those obstacles driven by specific actors or agents, mostly working on financial or authority power related disciplines or basis/ values/ ideology.

an analysis beyond a morphological one, which includes quantitative and qualitative methods, statistic data collectiona and process, (environmental) behavioral and social mappings, empirical and narrative /discussion information analysis. In general, an analysis in search for underlying effective factors and social structures previously unseen or unobserved.

8 collective memory refers to shared representations or collection of memories, infrormation and knowledge of a social group’s past and present based on a common identity 9 demos (δήμος) refering to the people of a place, the place or land itself or the assembly of the citizens (people) as a dominant decision making body.

10 social groups: would be nice to avoid words such as social “groups” but we need to be more pragmatical rather optimistic, in order to bring an Arcadian idea into reality. Many times “collective memory” or “collective understanding” is based upon those “readings”, comprehensions and perceptions of words and terms that might affect the final image of a social structure and therefore promote feelings that are unwanted for commons.

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Urbanity is in need of distinctive identity between existing social groups10 and actors, as a homogenous city11 usually creates a feeling of lack of identity and leads to depression, while a heterogeneous city11 arms actors with a feeling of over identifying themselves and hence not allowing any syghrotism (ALEXANDER, 1977) (KOSMOPOULOS, 2000). This idea of an inbetween situation is addressed as sub_enclaving for the purposes this project. Sub-enclave is a small topographical area that at the same time has “protected” or “guarded” boundaries, a storytelling of a collective memory, while at the same time is so small (at a scale of a small neighborhood block) that cannot create a powerful enough identity to become exclusive. Keeping an identity within this “enclave”, creating porous edges and allowing access to the sub_enclave through a small attraction pole (e.g. a neighborhood park, a square, a regligious building, a state building etc.) and having neighboring sub_enclaves supporting each other through “share” services can become a catalyst against the bipolarity of homogenous-heterogenous.

Another idea, addressed here is the idea of a biological connection between human and nature, rather the nurtured norms that are taking over within the artificial environment. Symbolisms or social group* identificatory elements are applied in the artificial environment with ideas or ideologies, whereas nature is roughly never able to integrating those ideas or ideologies.

Those questions and others deriving from those are being explored throughout this study.

homogenous or a heterogenous city are theoritical, philosophical terminoloogies to descirbe a tendecy of a city of a scale of two impossible bipolar edges. This tendecy descirbes the character or identity of its citizens than its morphological physical urban character. A heterogenous city treats its people as “equal” on opportunities and character beings, with low to none individual differences. An example of that tendecy is the New York in the USA. Usually heterogenous tendecy is inclusive to the “others” but at the same sterile on personal identity and unique treatment.

Homogenous city tendecy is a tendecy for a city that has a great sense and value of the “commons”, share the same identity, while each citizen is understand with its specific individual characteristics, many times having a nickname for one of its characteristics, either physical (appearance) or behavioral (character). Examples that might refer as homogenous are the slums (e.g. rio favellas) or small towns or villages with significant ideas of a common shared identity that becomes exclusive to others. None of the two is ideal of human interaction, integration and psychology.

The ideal lies in the inbetween, always based upon the needs and uniqueness of its citizens. For example, the tendecy for the one or the other bipolar edge is different between an industrial and a touristic city.

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Approach and Main Ideas The major idea followed throughout this study is that, one is not acting as a designer, rather s/he is orchestrating the fluctuations and dynamics of the area, encouraging or discouraging specific behaviors. This is achieved through gathering existing programs3, encouraging their development and expansion, while adding new subsidiary programs.

By creating an imagery toolkit for the public, one cultivates the eye of the public, while favoring the pure enjoyment of complexity, understood as the collection of compositional elements organized according to a complexity principle, where the hybrid programmatic mishmash readily offers itself as an entertaining spatial alternative to stringent minimalism. Among other things, this approach, activates references outside the realm of architecture and urbanism, not as hard-to-grasp metaphysics of form but as vessels that convey meaning where everyone seems to be able to join in (WEISS, 2017, p. 47). Additionally, cultivation of the public can happen through exposing people to a series of references or new concerns. Those references and examples given should be both “good” or “bad”, always linked to speficic concerns. One can use the same reference as an example of a bad treatment on a specific aspect, while a good treatment on another specific aspect.

There are four ideas behind this study. The first is the chaos model (chaotic system and strange attractors) and the idea for the project becoming the leaking point to which the future takes a different torque, explained above. The chaos idea is explained in detail above (see. Terminology and Definitions 1+3, Assumptions 1-5, Personal Thoughts and Narratives p. xvi) The second is the synergetic model within different disciplines (as seen at fig.1). The third is the Work Focus Levels (see. Fig.7) with three major aims to be the entrepreneurship, the landscape recovery and the cultural metissage. The fourth, after the idea of changing is the Strategic Layering (see. Fig.8) between economies, landscape and the public sphere. The idea is that if someone acts on the literal one, the ground and therefore the layer of landscape a chaining effect will generate incentives and economic resources and regenerate the urbanity of the area, as well as the mental intepretation of space. All in all, this study does not follow the idea of controlling space, rather than guiding this chaotic system, while trying to become the melting pot where the Anthropocene and the Anthropocentric are in a synergy with each other.

program in architectural language refers to the specific activity, spaces needed, events etc. that will take place within a building or a city. In other words, architectural or urban program is how will the space be used and what will be used for.

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Fig. 7: The Work Focus Levels

Fig. 8: The Strategic Layering

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Study Outline Information about the city and the Chosen Site: Historical Background – Pages 23-31 The issues to be addressed through this Study: Problematic & Summary – Pages 32-53 The Architectural Analysis of the Area: Mapping Analysis and Conclusions – Pages 80-89 The Methodology to Approach the Issues: Methodology & Strategies – Pages 63-79 The Strategic Model of Actions: Synergetic Model and Urban Strategies – Pages 90-105 The Urban Actors and the Dynamic Poles to work as Strange Attractors: Actors and “Attractors” Dynamics – Pages 106-114 A Possible Future Scenario based on the Methodology and Strategies Chosen: Urban Development through Time – Pages 123-145 The Dynamic System of this Future Scenario Understood: Actions Model Understanding – Pages 146-147 Expected Future Urban Behaviour: Expected Result – Pages 148-156 Conclusions, Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research: Conclusions – Pages 162-168

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DISCUSSION 1

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The study aims to test the boundaries of the area in between the Anthropocentric or “Anthropogenic” philosophy and the Anthropocene ideology. If the two placed as the edges on a bipolar scale, then what is examined is the whole area in between.

Anthropocene is defined as the present geological epoch. This epoch is characterized by the disruption of the earth’s ecosystems and biodiversity by human intervention. Along with the Anthropocene follows a series of important questions that concern the sustainability of the planet.

At the time of writing, Anthropocene ideology, that of human actions permanently changing the planet and therefore a need to react on those effects is raised. The ideas deriving against the Anthropocene and its destructive effects, seem to act as an alternative to anthropocentric models. One such alternative is the post-humanism.

Post-humanism emphasizes the importance of the non-human component, while it privileges ecological systems, other living organisms and beings (flora or fauna), and the environment. It emphasizes the protection and conservation of the earth and its inhabitants, recognizing continuity between all living creatures including plants, animals and humans. As a result, philosophy moved into new materialism, or object ontology or even social assemblages’ theories that had been underlying.

Neither of the two view-points though could manage to handle such a sensitive urban assemblage as the one found in a city such as Beirut.

Summarizing, Beirut’s parameters shall be considered the topological or geographical position of the city as a coastal Mediterranean city, surrounded by mountains and carrying a unique ecosystem and watershed. In addition to it, its unique flora and fauna, the migrating fauna and other living organisms belong to the ideology that Anthropocene ideas brought into the surface, whereas the sensitive social mosaic, their sensitivity in divisional mentality or perceptions of their identity and own land, as well as the corruption in the hierarchical systems of the polis that bring an aftereffect of social and financial inequity and injustice are factors that belong to the Anthropocentric spectrum.

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As already defined this study aims on both, and therefore tools resolving issues for each of the two spectrums, as well as the combination of those tools become necessary to address both the Anthropocentric and Anthropocene aspects of the city. As described, a search among each separate spectrum can provide tools resolving one or another issue, but what actually happens when one tries to combine the two into one sustainable collective landscape and human inclusive ecology?

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Then, the understanding and assumption that one can never reach the greatest point for either of the two is necessary. Although the above statement seems pessimistic, the realization of it can lead one in search for the great balance ration between the two. This is always a negotiation process and is always evident in the disciplines of design, a process that may pass unnoticed in the discipline of architecture of e.g. a housing project. In the housing project the negotiation might be between utility and aesthetics, whereas in the case of urbanism the negotiation speaks about living, the in-der-welt-sein13, sustainability of any kind and many more.

The scale of the project itself could not be limited to one or another, as the two theoretical models deriving from Anthropocentric and Anthropocene suggest a vast separation of scales to be examined. The challenge here would be able to observe effects of the two models in any scale used at any given moment. Moreover, it is important to develop an ability of “back-forth-ing” between any scale, that of personal space (psychology) to the land use spatial design scale or the geopolitical scale of the whole region and all the in-between situations. Additionally, to it, the ability of seek for observations that go beyond the physical and tangible like in science, epistemology etc. and faces the reasoning fields of philosophy, theorems, social and anthropological studies and of course the arts and empiricism is of great significance. Those shall not all be observed, but also find a way to be “cartographed” or mapped in order to become a useful tool into approaching the subject and problematic of the hypothesis to be followed.

In general, the study aims to become at the same time, a critic on the so far discipline and a research for an alternative experimental designing procedure that could be sensitive into minor problems, solving greater ones, while keep on sustaining the project and the city’s future urbanity.

in-der-welt-sein or being-in-the-world: Heidegger postulated that, the world ‘is’, and that this fact is naturally the primordial phenomenon and the basis of all ontological inquiry. For Heidegger the world is here, now and everywhere around us. We are totally immersed in it [...]. ‘Being-in-the-world’, for Heidegger stood for a unitary phenomenon and needed be seen as a whole. [...] Being-in-the-world fundamentally belongs to Dasein (a co-term for being-in-the-world), its Being concerning the world is fundamentally concern. Consern is the temporal meaning which Being-in-the world has for human beings and it is the time configuarition of human life which is the identical concern which human beings have for the worlds. If human beings had no concept of time they would have nbo reason to be engaged or implicated in the world in a human way. (Hornsby, n.d.)

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“If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?�

George Berkeley

2. ARCHITECTURAL URBANISM WITHIN BEIRUT’S CONTEXT LITERATURE REVIEW / PREVIOUS KNOWELEDGE

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Historical Background The City of Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. It is considered one of the oldest cities in the world, being inhabited for more than 5000 years. Now identified as a ‘post-war state’ par excellence, Lebanon has endured 15 years of civil war between 1975 and 1990, as well as occupation of its southern provinces by Israel between 1982 and 2000 (MAKHZOUMI). Today, Beirut is comprised by 18 recognized religious sects spread all over the city (fig.9). The city, has traditionally functioned as a pluralistic but ethnically segregated city with Christian residents settled mostly on the eastern side of the city and Muslim sects in the southern and western sections.

Beirut can be understood as a “cityscape of residues”, characterized by uncontrolled land use and a landscape of juxtaposed fragments with lack of value and collective identity (TROVATO, FARAJALLA, & TRUGLIO, 2016). The city has been shaped throughout its history by forced migrants and their ability to create livable spaces and adapting in the new urban environment (GUSTAFFSON, 2016).

The rapid urbanization in the city of Beirut was generated after the inner rural migrants leaving the villages in search for jobs in the big city in the 40s, the participation of forced migrants in the city making and their settlement and “institutionalization” after new migrant forces in the city’s edges. The previously “foreign” refugees have been socially accepted, as they moved to fringes of the city that would act as a defense wall towards new migrant flows, as the attention of Beirutis was turned to new enemy and the new migration flows. Soon, those first settlements had become “a marshy piece of rural land, with simple dwellings and quarters, named after places, the new habitats had leave behind” (GUSTAFFSON, 2016).

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The urbanization of the previously known as “The Paris of the Middle East” after its cosmopolitan character, is now informal and mediocre. This is partially resulted by the urban sprawl, the unplanned, uncontrolled gentrification, the increase in ground rent and the construction of high-rises for wealthier people.

Nowadays, sprawl and gentrification, in Beirut, are directly linked to the real estate power and the neoliberal politic, whereby land and landscape are conceived as resources to be used for economic profit, ‘colonized’ for the enjoyment of few privileged. The politics after the Lebanese civil war, followed a neoliberal turn, were the reconstruction and urbanization priorities are defined to the concerns of the ruling merchant elite, whom was more eager to monopolize administrative positions (TROVATO, FARAJALLA, & TRUGLIO, 2016).

Fig. 9: The religious sects of Beirut by 2010, Image by author based on (SHAYA, 2010)

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Quick Overview of Beirut’s History

To understand the current situation (at the time of writing this study) we need to have at least a short understanding of the formation of Beirut’s contemporary urbanization. Through the 18th century, a Lebanese ally with the Egyptians would alarm Ottomans and British, whom in 1840 would bombarded the city and give the authority to Ottomans. The massacres in Syria and the booming silk trade would force the first Maronite migrants to search a new life in the city (UNIDENTIFIED, n.d.). The new flows within the city, would be the beginning of the commercial boom that would made Beirut an important powerhouse for Europeans, who would involve with its future, after the massacres of the Maronite population. French troops would arrive in Beirut, while ties with Europe steadily grew in the coming decades.

By the time, early internal urban divisions were obvious in the city’s structure, with the city walls separating urban dwellers from the nonurban. The 19th century fortification walls would provide spatial divisions, with Muslim sects to the west and Christian sects to the east (fig.10.).

The eastern wall of the citadel would later become a physical partition as it would establish the city’s north-south axis, later forming the Green Line (CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E., 2011, p. 39).

During WWI, Beirut suffered a blockade by the Allies intended to starve out the Turks, resulting a revolt broke out against the Turks and resulted in the mass hanging of the rebel leaders in what became known as the Place des Martyrs. WWI ended Turkish rule by British and meant the beginning of the French mandate over Lebanon (and Syria), and Beirut became the capital of the state of Greater Lebanon (UNIDENTIFIED, n.d.).

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In the same period of WWII Beirut was occupied by the Allies and, thanks to its port, became an important supply center.

In 1946 the French left the city and, following Lebanon’s first civil war in 1958.

The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 would mean the first flow of Palestinian refugees settling in refugee camps south of Beirut, where they remain until today. At the same time, Beirut managed to reinvent itself as one of the main commercial and banking centers of the Middle East, while it became a melting pot for both Arab World and Europe turning into the “Paris of the Middle East” (UNIDENTIFIED, n.d.).

Cycles of rapid urbanization reinforced many of these traditional ethnic boundaries and would introduce unprecedented pressures on the city as a whole. The physical fabric of Beirut would rapidly transform itself as it was growing in time. Distinctions between the sects, the national groups or the socio-economic groups would now become more tangible.

Residential and commercial sectors, rich and poor neighborhoods, old and new enclaves, and civilian and military zones. One example is the influx, beginning in 1870, of Maronite peasants from mountainous rural areas, forced by poverty and overpopulation to seek jobs in Beirut.

(CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E., 2011, p. 41).

The demarcation line, already implied since the 19th century, would be established during the hostilities of 1956–58, with the armed opponents of the Lebanese President barricading themselves in the Sunni quarter of al-Basta, destroying the public buildings and utilities. This development, while temporary, confirmed the two parts of Beirut had opted for two different political choices.

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Beirut had experienced a period of unprecedented expansion in the decades preceding the outbreak of civil unrest in 1975.

This unplanned and poorly coordinated urban growth taxed the city severely, without proportional increases in economic productivity.

The nature and rate of demographic change in the city tended to expose the inadequacies of a political system grounded in fraternal and ethnic allegiances. The challenge to accommodate so many new urban residents paralyzed Lebanon’s public institutions (CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E., 2011).

The weak state and other internal and external sect and clan or political party affiliations, along with the informal urbanization of Beirut led to the ethnic violence that overtook Lebanon in 1975. The civil war saw Beirut transformed into a bloody, terrifying epicenter of anarchy. Among the prominent Muslim sects active in Lebanese politics in the decades preceding civil war were the Sunni and Shiite factions, the Ismaili faction, the Alawis faction, and the Druze. The participating Christian sects included the Maronites, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Armenian Orthodox, and Phalangists (CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E., 2011).

Beirut following the functional needs of the civil war, would be transformed into a dense mosaic of heavily fortified neighborhoods and mini-fiefdoms (GILBERT, 2016). The city was ruled, area by area, by militias loyal to one of various factions. The north-south axis now more clear than ever became the Green Line dividing the city into Muslim and Christian

halves. Continual intercommunal fighting between militias, combined with shelling from Israeli fighter planes, soon devastated the city, leaving tens of thousands of human casualties and a shattered economy.

and Israel, triggered by a Hezbollah guerrilla operation in Israeli territory, would color the contemporary history of the city, with many young Beirutis having vivid memories of the conflict (MACDONALD, 2018).

By 1991, the end of the civil war saw the Green Line dismantled and the arduous task of rebuilding began, but the scars are still evident in the old bullet holes that pockmark many buildings. The post-war government faced a daunting task in repairing the country’s destroyed infrastructure (UNIDENTIFIED, n.d.).

Contemporary Beirut, became the stage and the emblem of the conflict as a whole.

Meanwhile, the resulting economic downturn, combined with ongoing conflicts and the erection of a Hezbollah ‘tent city’ in the city center, have led many to understand that there is still a lot to be settled. Its leaders seem unwilling to question the traditional urban contract or adapt systems of urban management and resource allocation that had become obsolete long before uncontrollable violence erupted.

Refugees had become one of the reasons that the Lebanese civil war ended. The civil war ended in a very awkward way, where no victory occurred, no overruling power took over, rather a new threat forced the opposed sects to reunite themselves, in order to deal with the “others”, the new forced migrants arriving into the city’s edges.

The civil war ended in a very uncomfortable way, that all sides engaged have experienced tremendous losses and no win.

Still, some would argue that the Lebanese civil wars have never really ended, given the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, climaxing in their 2006 war, the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005, and the scattered secretariat violence of 2008 (GILBERT, 2016), as well as the headless government for almost three years between May 2014 and November 2017.

The 2006, 34-day war between Lebanon

Fig. 10: The division of the two sects by 1841 after the fortification walls. Red: Muslim sect- West and Yellow: Christian sect- East.

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LEBANON. Beirut. Civil war. 1978.

Image Reference: PAR390650(DER1978004W00011/17) © Raymond Depardon/Magnum Photos

The Cultural and Mental Division

“Trauma is not experiences as a mere repression or defense, but as a temporal delay that carries with it the individual beyond the shock of the first moment. The trauma is a repeated suffering of the event, but it is also a continual leaving of its site The traumatic re-experiencing of the events this carries with it the “collapse of witnessing” (GILBERT, 2016).

The city of Beirut nowdays is no longer physically divided. The Green Line has been dismantled yet its mental imprints remain active. As found in CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E study one observer notes: “It is still a barrier for the inhabitants of West Beirut looking for a change, while those from East Beirut will not easily cross over for superior restaurants or cultural life. Ethnic, political, linguistic, psychological, cultural de facto boundaries are still in place; their importance is now minimized, though not yet erased”.

Beirut’s contemporary mentality cannot be observed easily from an outsider. Signs can be seen, though in some areas. Streets, public spaces, built environments of state or military facilities or barriers divide the neighborhoods into casts, with the signs recognizable, either by a local or mature eye or through time.

Someone can observe cultural or religious signs in a street, building on the one side carrying balconies covered by improvised or built elements (usually sign of Muslim community), such as fabrics, bed sheets, umbrellas, wooden informal constrictions or built walls and windows, while on the other simple open balconies. Another case,

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would be the religious sculptures of Saint Charbel found at the entrances of Maronite blocks, or publicly exposed Christmas decorations, with sometimes communal trees in the middle of the neighborhood (see. Photos 1-4).

Those spatial expressions of the mental division are only what an outsider can see. Locals are far more sensitive in different signals, including body language, language idioms’ characteristics and even a topological profile of each area, embedded in each local’s city perception and cognition mechanism.

The Lebanese civil war’s impacts on urban partition and citizen’s psychology cannot be even roughly estimated, since there are limited clinical and sociological data available. Anxiety and resentment still lingered strongly especially among its least privileged residents who experienced almost constant anxiety during the lengthy periods of violence and received little compensation for their losses afterward. Political settlement, a requirement for social reconciliation and recovery has not even been the peak of a larger ideology.

Many Beirutis whose fears still exert a strong influence on their daily habits voluntarily limit their movements across the former Green Line.

© Ramy Kabalan

In order to overcome those mental partitions, a process of a transparent and participatory planning is of great significance. Transparent urban redevelopment strategies are crucial as it voices all citizens and balances the political neoliberal paths with the elite’s priorities (as stated at “The City of Beirut” above).

In an internally physically and socially segregated city such as Beirut, the very nature of the development is an indication of the inequity between its people and its authoritarians ( LECLAIR-PAQUET, 2013, p. 15).

Although all stated above connoted with a negative hue, this is not as truth, as a certain degree of separation for communities with specific cultural or social identities, are necessary to remain their character in order to survive, while allowing a social and political inclusion and integration (LECLAIR-PAQUET, 2013, p. 13). The lack of a social identity can have negative effects (a homogenous city), while the sharply separated identities can have the effects of the Lebanese civil war (a heterogeneous city). The ideal lies in between in an attempt to combine the benefits of inclusion with the retention of specific expression.

© Photo J. Schwarz/HH Photo Comparison. (See Reference Photos and Figures: Photo 6.) Above: Beirut Downtown Vs Down: Neighborhood in Baabda Region

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Hypothesis

As already discussed above, the project is addressed as an overlap of three main levels. The economic and productive ecology, the natural and artificial landscape and the human ecology, all combined giving the collective landscape.

Firstly, lies the system of the productive_scape, which comes as a result on a previous action. The methods for one to work are not clear, as it is one of the chaotic systems, while some suggestions can be made as to the direction to work on, while its results are quantitative. Secondly, lies the physical landscape (either natural or artificial, urban, rural etc) system. This is the one objectified scientifically, providing secure methods to work with, and measurable results.

Finally, the third system is the human ecologies, including both sygchrotism and sygchoresis. This is the most chaotic of the three, as it is including more actors, uncertain methods to act and unpredictable results. Moreover, this is the one system of the three that suffers from the war effects, as human memory and archives are expending the time that trauma and its long term effects affect the system. In addition to that post-war mentality still being carried out by the actors, there are ongoing partitions and conflicts within both the urban and political expression of the society of the actors.

Summurising, the proposal deals with three overlapping systems or for practical understanding, three levels the designer has to work with. The first level comes with a network of actions that could provide incentives on reclaiming the land from public, while protecting the area from the aggressive real estate. It is also the one that will ensure any future evolution of the area. This first level, is also called to solve an issue appearing mostly on the third one, which is the socioeconomic injustice observed on the social fabric linked to the third level.

The second, is clear and tangible. It is the level that becomes the ground – both literally and metaphorically – that all the events by and for the urban actors take place. This level is as well linked to the thrid through mostly physical divisions and

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the social groupings, casts or enclaved areas. The third level is the one that needs to be the starting point for change, in that way the dynamics and pressures of the other two levels are linked and almost sealed into specific connections and links. Within, this level, the designer is called to deal with mental and ideological issues, address a post war mentality, a weak governement power, link the urban actors to the place, and deal with all socioeconomic injustice and physical or psychological enclaving. It is very important for the success of a project the determination of the locals. To result the expected results one of the most important parameters is the link between actors and place.

Concluding, the assumption made is that one acting and “designing” on the ground level (both litarally and metaphorically), can trigger a chain of changes, a domino effect that could result on guiding the future of the urbanity towards a wanted direction or future possibility. Any action on the initial urbanity will change the future, while a series of those actions could lead on a greater probability of one or another possible future urbanity.

Additionally, this shall not happen through a top down approach, where the designer makes the assumptions, rather the designer should help the citizens to express their true needs and will for their environmental space. This process is not a bottom up approach, rather a “boost” and cultivation of references and understandings by the designer, for the citizens to create and shape their future. The designer should act on its own will, only if the result that he considers is within the frameworks of the citizens’ will, whereas the designers sees another opportunity that could result similar or “better” urban future. The work of the deisgner here is mostly to insitutionalise and officialise those needs of the urban actors and agents and become the mediator between all those envolved and the legality of the situation. Unfortunately, that implies an interface with the political and social structure of each situation. Many times this interface could extend into financial driven forces, or religious factors.

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The Area Under Study The area chosen (fig. 11) is at the south-east edge of the Beirut Governorate and at its borders with Mount Lebanon Governorate and its districts of Baabda and Matn (fig.12.). The site forms a unique triangle easily recognizable and surrounded by three major highways.

This area, throughout its history had been always in flux. Historically it has been the path of entering Beirut, Lebanon from Damascus, Syria.

It worked almost as a propylaeon (porch or gate) for accessing the city from the east and south. This area worked as a zone of exchange in arriving at the city. Until recently, this area had been mostly neglected with very few interventions taking place. The reason for abandoning such a place with great potential through the city’s development can be happening for two major reasons.

On the first hand, this fluctuation of exchanging can be exactly one of reasons, why this part of city had been neglected. It had been always in a change, with commercial activity taking place, the railway connection, the trading, and the surrounding sects and social groups that would claim it as their own. Although, agriculture activity is taking place within, the area is mostly described by the pressures of real estate at the north, the ex-industrial area at the north-east edge and its reclamation for artist’s habitat, the trading area on the west, the poor community on its west-south edge living within and cultivating for its own benefit, the small community on the south-east edge , the university in the southernmost part, the rural and slums area at the east and its encirclement from the highway and the canalized stream on the east. This will from each group to claim the land, could lead to the fear of conflicted interests and therefore by being a land own by everyone (Everyone’s Land) becomes a land physically claimed by no one (No-Human’s Land), leading to the paradox of NO HUMAN’S LAND YET EVERYONE’S LAND. The second reason is probably more topological, as the whole area is exact area of the valley and the first flood zone of the stream.

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While it was already inhabited at north and west the area had not been urbanized until the mid-twentieth century with the flows and settlement of migrants in the area, probably due to the areas’ relatively close distance to the city and that the area had been a left over, through Beirut’s urbanization.

This peri-urban area, has a very blurry form in the case of Beirut. The boundaries between cities and countryside creates permeable edges in flux. Peri-urban area in Lebanon seems more like urban-like areas that connect main centers such as the city and other village or urban nodes. Does not have a connection or disconnection with the nature, or the city’s limits. Those spaces are on the border of the city, no longer countryside, but not yet city, a landscape self-defining, uncertain, instable and informal. One of the characteristic elements of those areas is the residual parcels of green land bordered by infrastructure, residential, commercial and industrial settlements unrelated to agriculture (TROVATO, FARAJALLA, & TRUGLIO, 2016, p. 485).

Healthy urban economic and ecological systems disappeared over the last 30 years from the changes in this area and the canalization of the stream. Planning policies that recognize and protect both the natural and cultural landscape are absent, where the landscape architecture is perceived as a profession limited to beautifulification of contemporary urban settings (MAKHZOUMI).

Businesses and apartment buildings barred their entrances, schools closed, regular

commerce evaporated, and formerly up-market commercial districts were quickly transformed into open-air meat and fruit markets that operated during the gaps between the fighting (CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E., 2011, p. 52).

This influx of ruralists in an urbanized center has impelled polarized social groups to share living spaces. Although the dissemblance between urbanites and ruralists is less striking in modernized societies than in traditional ones, perceptions of space, of social relations and of work distribution for ruralists remains fundamentally different to those of urbanites (LECLAIR-PAQUET, 2013, p. 11).

The area (light blue) as seen at fig. 13 is surrounded by Achrafieh at north-west (red), Bourj Hammoud at north-east (yellow), Badaro at south-west (purple), Sin el Fil at east (turquoise and green) and Hazmieh at south (light red).

Achrafieh district is considered as a middle to upper class area. It is highly appreciated by the elite and young people are moving to that area. It is considered as a safe area to live, it is built over a hill and it is mostly considered as a Christian area.

During mid-twentieth century the fluxes near the area, the migration pressures as well as the increase of rural flows into the city of Beirut provoked an alt in the semi-formal urbanization of the area and increased the need for immediate shelter.

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As a consequence, slums became the main typology of the river’s landscape, while nowadays most of them upgraded to better habitation, due to the efforts of each area’s own municipality agriculture (TROVATO, FARAJALLA, & TRUGLIO, 2016). This resulted the development of Bourj Hammood district, home of Beirut’s Armenian community, is where Armenian refugees settle after their migration. Today is one of the nightlife’s hotspots for young people with major commercial zone to be the Armenia Street and hosts some of the best street food and bars in Beirut (MACDONALD, 2018).

Sin el Fil district, is the rural peri-urban area to the east of the site.

The previously strong agriculture presence in the river’s area, had sloped and minimized due to the canalization of the stream by 1968. The agriculture area, previously overtaking the most of the flood valley, had been brutally urbanized, because of the pressuring demands of housing and industry, while at the moment the same thing is happening by the real estate, both over ad hoc development and agriculture zones. Many of the industrial buildings are turning into apartments, and neglected or agriculture areas are claimed by real estate with great arrogance as to the social fabric. Different types of urban fabric as seen in this peri-urban area, such as agricultural plots, abandoned or neglected plots, parking, informal open market, wild spaces.

Badaro district, is the other hotspot for new bars and restaurants (MACDONALD, 2018), a melting pot of different socio-economic groups and religious sects and an area with great commercial potential and trading system. The neighborhoods had been mostly abandoned, whereas the last decade it became a great habitat for artists and young people who seek for an affordable and safe neighborhood to live. Badaro hosts the historic road od Damascus road, where the train from Damascus would leave the visitors in the city, and one of the most previously infamous commercial zones of the city.

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Folded Drawing Left: Fig. 11: Initiatives Map. Sub_enclaving the area into “thematic” subcultures according to different treatments and attractors’ usage. Their intersection areas are hybrid spaces effected by attractors gathered in each (spatially subdivided) sub_enclave.

Fig. 12: Initiatives Map Legend. Program to be used in the planning. Empowering local underlying systems, promoting past ones and adding new.

Fig. 13: Map of Beirut. The area under study can be seen within the white frame.

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Applied Hypothesis on the Area Under Study

In order to apply the hypothesis on practice there are two factors in need to be examined first. The first is to understand the existing situation and official politics, policies or de facto approaches taking place already within the site and the city. The second it to shape that understanding into accepting the generic approach of the hypothesis as given above. As already mentioned, working on three levels can help simplifying a complicated and complex existing chaotic situation and turning it, into one that the designer can conceive and work upon.

The existing situation is tangible when speaking about resources.

Therefore, there is a need for search for the resources of each level.

To achieve this, one needs to examine carefully any obvious or underlying structures of each layer, collect the data, cross check them with the local’s ideas and viewpoints and then use them as the base to work upon. Similarly, the approach will be kept as in its generic statement in a greater scale, while it will be used more “locally” and therefore changed or “improved” in smaller scales.

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Physical Landscape

For obvious reasons, the second level is the easiest to begin with. The reasons are tangible. “Beirut� mean is well or wells in Phoenician language (MAGED & BASHIR, 2017).

This comes with a series of speculations that Beirut should have been rich in water from a very ancient time. Contemporary Beirut is fragmenting the urban morphology due to its lack of any ecosystem along its 5 km length crossing the valley through a rural and urban area reaching its mouth at Mediterannean Sea at north, on the east edge of the city. Beirut River extends 25 km in length starting from a mountain of 1580m in height (MAGED & BASHIR, 2017). Beirut River a previously reach natural ecosystem supporting activities such as agriculture, as well as community rituals, while providing a space for social integration had been canalised as the global trend of the late-twentieth century in an effort to control natural disasters, such as floods, as well as saving space for the new transportation armatures and highways (see. fig. 14).

Beirut River has an average annual total discharge of a hundred million cubic meter (100,000,000 m3). During its wet season (November-April) the flow rate is at 16 m3/sec with a supply of water at 30,000 m3 per day, while during its dry season (May-October) drops at 0,01 m3/sec with an average daily supply at 20,000 m3 (FREM, 2009) (MAGED & BASHIR, 2017). The water provided by the river is subdivided between industry (43.3%), agriculture (6.1%), domestic use (48.4%) and tourism(2.2%).

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The river used to play a very important social role in the life of the city and its peri-urban area during the early and mid-twientieth century (see. fig. 15-16).

By its 1968 canalisation (see. fig.17), the stream took another social role.

The one of division and fragmentation.

The stream path now has diferentiated its two shores. The canalised stream now caused an absence of communication and integration between people, while this is expressed in the morphologies of the urban tissue, buildings and uses as seen in the Mapping Analysis further down in this study. This partition produced a psychological boundary that ended communities’ cultural rituals taking place at the river banks and the cultivated land around it (FREM, 2009). The absence of social, cultural and comercial facilities along the stream led to the dicrease of interaction among people, community, as well as the local authorities.

Fig. 14: 3D Satellite view of Beirut. The chosen area is the white triangle. The Governorates (black line) and Districts (white lines) division can be observed. In dark red are marked the agricultural surfaces, with green are marked important green areas and with pink are marked neglected soft surfaces (mostly neglected land or unpaved parking lots).

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Beirut canalization is divided in four sections (see fig.18), the estuary (Bourj Hammoud District) and the urban edges (Sin el Fil) parts were executed in 1970, while the valley, mostly used as agricultural landww (Hazmieh) and stream’s upper course (mountain area of Jisr El Bacha) were completed in 1998 after the civil war. The first section extends at 43m in width and an average of 3 meters in height, with a slope of 1.5% with a maximum water flow at 5.7. The second section extends at 35mwide, 5m in height and a slope of 3.5%, with the water flow at 8.2. The third section is 23m wide, 7 meters average hight, a slope of 6.5% (FREM, 2009). The upper course of the canalised stream is of 18m wide, coming from a constructed damof aproximately 38m wide and 265m long, hosting the stream’s upper course natural flow.

Fig. 15: Area Under Study, District Divisions.

No.1.: Refugee settlements, No.2: Industrial Areas, No.3.: Agriculture Land, No.4: Sin El Fil District, No.5: Achrafieh District, No.6: Badaro District.

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Fig.16: Beirut River Evolution

© www.oldbeirut.com

© Susannah Walden @ The Daily Star Lebanon

Fig.17.A: Beirut River by 1942.

Fig.17.C: Canalized Beirut River today.

© www.oldbeirut.com

Fig.17.B: Beirut River by 1900.

Fig.17.C.

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Beirut River has suffered many problems, as the riparian river was converted into an infrastructural duct of transport and sewage. The stream’s velocity increased rapidly and turned into a channel that both the quality of water stays unprocessed and the water is uncontrolled, especially during its torrential phase with extreme rainfalls and the snow melt between February and March. Moreover, the canal can host up to 1100 m3/ sec at maximum, while studies showed that a flood in the area could reach the 1571 m3/sec that could span for over 30 hours, forming a wave of 7.4 m in height. This is an incident happening at a ratio of once every 100 years statistically, with the last incited happening in 2005 inundating the Sin El Fil area and submerging the Bourj Hammoud (see. fig.19) and waterfront (estuary) regions (FREM, 2009). Although statistics speak for every 100 years this is not a natural or physical indicator of when it will happen again in real.

Fig.18: Beirut Canalized Stream today (after FREM,2009 diagram)

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Fig.19: Beirut Valley Flood Zone. The Topography Describes exactly the chosen Triangle Area Site

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The natural ecosystem of the stream was erased after its canalization with the complete erase of the fluvial braided system, the destruction of the riparian habitat and the elimination of any hydrological exchanges between the stream and its adjacent water tables, which after years of extensive agricultural use of the water and domestic wells (especially in the rural area) causing seawater intrusion in the aquifer below. Adding to those issues, is the insufficient waste management, the lack of the wastewater management, the sewage and storm water runoff into the river (MAGED & BASHIR, 2017), the limitation of green open spaces, leading to a great greenhouse effect surrounding the area and the city.

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Furthermore, the selection of the stream area for the accommodation of industries due to the sufficient undeveloped space and its easy access to the highways system followed the canalization, as well as the convenient place of the port at the west edge of the stream’s estuary. Unfortunately, the abandonment of the stream was followed by those industries directly discharging their effluents on the coast (see. fig,20). The peak of the stream’s problems the 2012 red dye disposal (fig. 21) and the 2016 use of the canal as dump for the garbage, as a reaction to the headless government and lack of waste network (see. Fig. 22-23).

Fig.20: Beirut River most common image of polluted water carrying dirt and garbage. Š Naharnet Newsdesk

Fig.21: Beirut River in 2012 suffered by the illegal disposal of red dye by an adjacent factory. Š Tanya Lewis @ Business Insider

Fig.22: Beirut River Garbage Rupture of 2016.

Fig.23: Beirut River Canal work as Dump.

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Productive_ scape

Can someone satisfy the neoliberal needs of real estate in order to discourage it from aggressively claiming a great estate potential area, while at the same time satisfying the locals’ need for agriculture, empowering the local trading ecosystem, while revitalizing the environment of the stream? This was the first query when quickly analyzing the area under study.

Today, a neotectural city equals a real estate neoliberal development.

A development ignoring any sense of design, any ad hoc urban tissue, any respect for humanity and one that very aggressively almost fascistically strives to erase any “eyesore� within the city, resulting some luxuriously, supposedly highly aesthetically units, which on their turn outcome an architecture lacking its aspect of servicing social demands, its actual humanitarian character and its role as an advance and modification mediator and policy making tool.

Due to its historical fluctuations and its geographical positioning within the stream valley and flood hazard region the area has been underdeveloped.

If observed meticulously though, one can notice some underlying trading and living networks, such as social rituals (Sunday market, backyard settlements, communal playground spaces), unauthorized parking spaces under bridges, transportation linked services on round about infrastructures, the negotiation of space between community sects and real estate etc. (see. fig.24), (see. Photos 8-13).

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Fig.24: Analysis of micro economies of the North-East Region of the Chosen Area Site, Š AYOUB, Joseph (2018)

All that cityscape of financial and war residues, is what creates a juxtaposed fragmentation of both social and physical worlds and environment (see. fig.26).

The Badaro abandoned neighborhood has just started recreating itself, at first not due to social or financial motivation, rather to the absence of those economic incentives from other surrounding areas, supported by a feeling of safety within the adjacent region, – a region that includes cultural security generators such as the National Museum or Universities, religious and state bases and thus their protection mechanisms –. Now the region becomes an attraction to young people that want to separate themselves from previous generations and social parties or sects.

The peri-urban area on the other side of the canalized stream and the highways network becomes a community almost self-sufficient, exactly because of that physical and therefore mental division. Unfortunately, the ever diminished motives for agriculture and the observation by real estate of a highly potential elite developed area started to degenerate both the character and identity of the area, as well exerting pressures to the locals, politely forcing them to migrate, an action well described in two words as urban bullying. Although this is the current situation, agriculture can become a great motivation force in the local and translocal economy, with great benefits for the whole city, while satisfying any political agenda.

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Fig.25: Urban Grid seems to describe specific urban zoning development throughout Beirut’s history.

Those new understandings of the city seem to create a new topo_scape, a combination of the terrain and events taking place on it. Those armatures are set in hierearchy as to highways and other main connections and it’s evergrowing inner grid.

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Fig.26: Financial Motives. White: Chosen Area, Blue:Stream Line, Green: Horsh Beirut + Hippodrome, Yellow: National Museum and BeMA, Red: City Center, Burgundy: Port Area and Adjacent Industries

Fig.27: Abstract Despction of Religious Sects in Beirut. Mulsim population depicted on purple with light purple to be Sunni population, dark purple to be Shia population, yellow to be refugee camps, dark blue to be Druze population, magenta to be Greek Orthodox population, orange to be Armenian population, light crimson to be Maronite population, light blue to be Catholic population.

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Other financial motivations neighboring the area are the port area to the north and its adjacent industries, the city center not at 3km (less than 2 miles) away is within the distance a tourist easily would do on feet within his travel daily schedule. The National Museum and the upcoming BeMA (Beirut Museum of Modern Art) at a distance of less than half a kilometer (a third of a mile) act already as an attraction pole to cultural foreign and domestic tourists, while the New BIEL (Beirut International Exhibition & Leisure Center) and Beirut Art Center, are attractions situated already on site.

Other economic motivations of compelling potential are the residues of natural environment and green space. The stream and its revival has turned the local residents wellbeing from medium or low to one of great importance and enviable to many, in many cities during the beginnings of 21st century. Examples are the cities of Madrid, Los Angeles, Seoul, Moscow, New South Wales, Brooklyn, Paris, Rockhampton and the list extents to many more. A similar effect was brought by the Central Park in New York in 1876, making the Horsh Beirut and Beirut Hippodrome area a site of great significance on increasing financial motivation for the development of the area and its adjacent peripheries.

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In addition to all the above, the construction of the urban expressways can be the most important operation for the city. Although their benefits on connecting financial nodes is of immense magnitude its physical and social role in dividing is devastating. A little too contracted in their form, a little too timid in their deployment, too fragmentary in their execution ... more than a moans or metropolitan expansion, these infrastructures can be seen as the remedy for an old city in need of leeching (SOLΆ MORALES, 2008, p. 562).

Acting on all those interconnections and correlations between those areas of potential interest, their underlying rituals and economy networks, there is a try of reunite them into an economy_scape that allows at the same time cultural mettisage and environmental sustainability to play a major role.

The planning for those areas need to be bottom_up and sensitive in communities such as the ones described above, but at the same time in smaller sub_encalves, those of the slums by the canalized stream at the east of the chosen site, the students network within the area and the village community of Furn el Chebbak at the south of the site.

Human Ecologies

Fig.A: Abstract Collage for Cultural Metissage in Beirut, AUTHOR

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The civic ecosystems shaped by our changes of the urban environment, will by inevitably differentiated by rule in structure and function from the previous situation, but they will continue to respond to exactly the same change forces even though they may be more or less diverse, more or less stable, more or less productive. or have more or less of any number of other qualities (PANAYIOTOU, 2016, pp. 6, Paraphrasing LYLE, J.T. “Design for Human Ecosystems� (1985), p.2).

As explained above the society of Beirut is still experiencing the aftereffects and trauma of an unfished conflict. This is an issue rooted to the history and the DNA of the city and its urban development throughout the years.

In order to achieve a feeling of collectives in a society as such, a designer is almost a lost case, if the people themselves or at least a part of them wants the change.

On the other hand, everyone wants a change. The difference there, lies on what change. For some change is what satisfy their surviving needs, for others their ethnic or religious beliefs and ideologies, for others is what serves their financial status, for others what serves their political agenda. There is a small portion that needs to feel a change in a more optimized level, at that of an Arcadian urbanism and society. Architectural Urbanism here plays a role of a tool for changing the city into its utopian possibility. An Arcadian city is possible; a utopian is not. Nonetheless architectural urbanism should have its scope to a utopian future.

Again those terms are charged negatively or positively for variant groups of people. In this case this study aims to satisfy the philosophical needs of Young Beirutis and

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Millennials, who are in search for a different identity than the one their society and previous generation passed over to them effortlessly and without a critical filter or previous judgment on their truth.

There are many factors to take in consideration. One could argue that the urban fabric of the city of Beirut expresses more its cultural subdivisions rather its topography. It seems that the terrain of Beirut had been ignored whereas its artificial urbanized topography seems more and more to be shaped upon a series of social and cultural events or rituals, that imprinted themselves into the new urban_scape and natural land_scape of the city (see.

Photo.2. The terrain seems to retreat itself towards the upper grounds of its geological landscape, while giving space into the new topo_scape which is an alloy of the urban and cultural partitions, social groups and event_scape of the city. This new topo_scape is what events the residue fragmentation of the city, both in physical and social means.

The main problematics within Beirut’s human ecologies, which this study strives to address are mainly: 1. its partition mentality resulting from its history and the fresh memory of a great event – that of a Civil War with great losses and no winners – 2. its new socioeconomic division in social groups, significantly affected by an extremely weak state management and the neoliberal aggressive real estate development supported by the merchandizing elite, which in the case of Lebanon equals the state 3. the partition into treating different citizens, such as ethnic groups, religious sects (see. fig.27), legal immigrants and war refugees 4. the different age groups and their individual socially constructed perceptions of their past In order for a designer to achieve this there are two major ways of working on. The first is the exhausting sociocultural analysis that would result some issues that cannot be accessed as are basic or fundamental ideologies or beliefs among a generation. The assumption that any solution will not show immediate results after any proposed project among this first generation, seems very true.

The second way is to address all the social groups as their fundamental nature. That of a human being. This path unfortunately leads into highly sophisticated theoretical or even philosophical questions need to be answered and able to be answered only as such.

To achieve a project that might answer even partially to the above problematics, this study recognizes all human actors as such and only: human beings.

As such it aims to create a “common ground” rooting into human’s philosophical nature, that of a natural environment.

At the same time, the human development and its emotional conditions, especially that of the affection within parents and children is used. In addition, and in order to achieve more measurable and scientific results, understanding of major divisions among those groups is later used in order to achieve the sub_ enclaving divisions within the proposed physical environment.

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DISCUSSION 2

A first impression of Beirut is a chaotic and overwhelming city. The city had always been a land of the small but hard heeded refugees who, as minorities, sheltered and shaped the city with neither conflict nor understanding developed this culturally fragmented diamond of the Middle East (BEIRUT, 2006).

Beirut as a topological position within the Middle East map, as well as its prolonged history became one of the most chaotic urban systems globally. The area works as a fractal. A fractal unit of Lebanon’s position to the global map, then a fractal unit of Lebanon’s position to the Middle East region, then a fractal of Beirut to Lebanon context, then Beirut importance within the Greater Beirut region and finally chosen site position within its city’s fractal unit. This is a scenario of great importance, for anyone to understand that greater effects are similarly effecting smaller scales as a series of fractal positioning. The event taking place as actions and reactions in each fractal unit scenario are similar to the chaining effects brought from each unit to the other as a reaction or domino effect.

The chosen area is of a great importance as a propyleon towards the city by terrestrial means, while through its history had been always in fluctuation, cultivating partition mentalities, later supported or increased by physical terrestrial divisions such as highways, canalization techniques and the Green Line –to mention a few-. This cultivated mentality supported by ethnic, religious and socioeconomic factors, with its peak at the civil war and today with the postwar mentality and the constant fight between government, people and Hezbollah groups, expressed and foot printed in the city’s urbanization is what this study tries to address.

In order to forward this whole chaotic systemic mentality, a generalization is need in order to simplify the project into stylized systems, one is able to work on. Those systems brought are the physical or natural environment space, the space of finances and economics and the space of social structure and territorialization with the aims of an economic sustainable, porous to public flows space and environmentally feasible space that allows sygchrotism and syghoresis.

The hypothesis is that if someone acts the right way on the ground the effects and results will be seen in social engagement and public life as well as the resulted financial incentives and economy development. Indirect spatial factors can provoke this change. An example is the view. View can act as a factor, strong enough to change the human movement and behavior in spatial dynamics and convince people to climb in higher grounds or building roofs. Having a panoramic scenic view is a great motive for challenging the project ground surface.

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Other elements used are more strategic, and can be brought from other disciplines and fields. While inventing urban stories and identities is a technique frequently used in city branding campaigns and the entertainment industry, this tactic can act on helping reinforcing urban strategies to regenerate a healthy city. In the city of Beirut lies an alloy of nostalgia for an earlier trauma and the dream of a comfortable home (BEIRUT, 2006, pp. MOUNZER, J., RAJJI, R.A.). That exact alloy is what creates the urban temper between high and low culture, night and day life and public and private space.

“The physical environment in itself, particularly through meanings attached to it, may affect people’s perception of environmental quality and the good life […] so that, in a way, this becomes a self-perpetuating system. People act in certain ways shaping their environment which then becomes a socializing medium giving children ideas about what are proper environments and affecting their perception of the environments generally and the people with which they are associated […].” (RAPOPORT, 1977, p. 26) This above quotation, becomes the law based on which the design within this study takes place. By changing the environment, itself, the cognition and perception of it is changed, leading people in different spatial behaviors, which on their turn – following the cognitive-behavioral model – change actors’ feelings and attachment to space, leading to new readings and understanding of the environment and other actors associated with it. Different feelings, lead to different understanding (cognition), leading to different behavior and so on.

This leads to a whole new situation, or by this study terminology to a new chaos, this time guided by specific stimuli (attractors).

Fig.28: The Cognitive-Behavioral Model based upon the assumption that our thoughts and beliefs influence our behavior, emotions, and physiology.

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“Simplicity is the ultimate Sophistication” Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, Credited to Clare Boothe Luce.

As opposed or addendum to Occam’s Razor.

3. GUIDING BEIRUT’S URBAN FUTURES SURVEY AND RESEARCH DESIGN

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Strategic Approach Conditions of uncertainty, instability and irresolution have always been part of urban development. Transitioning seems a state perpetual to that of uncertainty (STRATIS, 2014), allowing architecture and urbanism to effectively operate in the chaotic systems of the cities. Today’s structures and hierarchies of the financial life, social control and coexistence are discouraging any spontaneous actions of eventing in space.

Culture and urbanism should organize the space where social life and public living take place, in new structures adaptable to the needs of the contemporary city (KOSMOPOULOS, 2000, p. 227).

The urban environment satisfies psychological needs. Objects, showrooms, light rooms, squares are all elements that attract people and create stimuli in experiencing the city as a game of direction, the actors become their own directors as to their movement and experience within a city (KOSMOPOULOS, 2000, p. 226).

The way human use space is one of the medium˙ people use in order to establish communication with others, whereas space is an important element on defining human emotion towards people that surround one within each topological space (SYGGOLITOU, 1997, p. 105).

A kid, to identify itself, is motivated to gain knowledge through the natural environment. The topological identity is considered as a sub-structure of the kid’s identity. Children, in the process of understanding themselves, develop relationships for important to them people, as well as through their experience with space, the artificial environment, and a series of objects and spaces. It is exactly this interaction between different spaces, linked to a differentiated social structure each, that contributes to creating a place identity. (SYGGOLITOU, 1997, pp. 106-109) Space density divided into social and spatial, can have negative hue when describing a densified place. People tend to be more encouraged to visit places less densified, whereas natural environment enhances that feeling. Furthermore, densified areas are connected to aggressiveness, effecting social interaction, while spaces need to be personalized or at least providing a sense of familiarity to the users (SYGGOLITOU, 1997, pp. 127-133).

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To achieve a bright future of urban space, urbanism, architecture, actors’ participation process and other processes negotiate their non-physical status with its physical spatial expression, as interrelationships between them. Cities, today, (something very obvious in Beirut) are regarded and managed as enterprises for economic growth, creative entrepreneurship and competiveness. The increasing emergence of neoliberal socio-economic policies that govern cities in the face of globalization (FERGUSON, 2004), can be addressed with the emerging public domain and the raise of a sense of commons through strategic design.

The concern of most politicians is directed mostly towards their personal interests. This political intervention in the realm of public institutions takes three different forms by politicizing the administration, issuing exceptions to regulations and obstructing the work of some institutions (TROVATO, FARAJALLA, & TRUGLIO, 2016, p. 484). Gentrification in Beirut, is creating new wave of delocalization or displacement, similar the one occurred during and after the civil war, reforming a tabula rasa of local cultural identity, causing de-territorialisation (weakening the ties between culture and place).

In great cities, support for the metropolis has from the outset been mixed up with the pure and simple expansion or the city to turn the Middle East region of the Mediterranean into a metropolis. Middle East cities as South European cities have progressively shifted away from the decentralizing and heterogeneous condition of the idea or the metropolis. Metropolitan terminology seems, in contrast, to be used to justify policies and strategies that repeat the habitual urban expansion on a larger scale rather than to embrace a radical transformation of the rhetorical concept or the city (SOLΆ MORALES, 2008, pp. 532-534).

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Strategies used within this study include amongst others, radical increment. This is a process that generates urban character and identity on its effort of accumulating, as a way of catalyzing change. A series of actions that pique the interest of project investors, while gradually introduces changes into the habits of actors, is a multiphase strategy (STRATIS, 2014).

Trojan horse strategies, is a cover-up of the intentions of the project, while having a façade that seems very different, even innocent towards many urban agents, or actors (depending on the viewpoint or the use of Trojan horse strategy and its agent).

Intentions as to increase places for the public sphere through public green spaces, can be a covered up effort of increasing land value for the real estate, and vice versa.

Mighty unfolding strategies, act as a precursor of the future final result of the proposals, operating in this state of transition within the implementation of a project. It, seemingly, neutralize the vast effects of its end-state (STRATIS, 2014), while preparing the ground for both institutionalized (politics) and actors to accept and embrace the change. Furthermore, it allows a degree of improvisation and change in the initial plan.

Finally, implying a malleable ecology strategy, as a reforming policy of maintaining and supporting the futures of a proposal.

This strategy strives to invite actors and agents on the maintenance of the proposal (STRATIS, 2014). In Beirut, the commons within social groups or sects (e.g. young groups, religious sects (YMCA, YOUTH WORK ISLAM, skateboarder groups, BMX groups, graffiti artists, lobbyists etc.) can play that role.

As seen above, actors aim to play a great role among the future of the area and the proposal. It is obvious that actors are creating their own inner cognitive map of their action_scape. Each map, appears clear and based on actor’s personal background, experiences and memories, where those images within that map appear to by prioritized. The local environment contains more details, whereas the more global it becomes the less information in hosts (KOSMOPOULOS, 2000, p. 276).

One of reasons choosing this area, is exactly this blurriness it carries and its absence of specific and detailed memories, making this area less emotionally and physically charged with a post-war mentality. Any charge of the urban fabric varies according to the cultural and timeless frameworks, factors that control the time and tension of that charge (KOSMOPOULOS, 2000, p. 290).

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Š Ornella Orlandini

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Major Strategies to be Followed and Avoided 01.

02.

03.

04.

05.

06.

07.

08.

09.

10.

11.

12.

City Hub (Green Parks Network) Sports Club (NGOs and Sports Center) Souks Market (Trading and Habitation Blocks) Railway Parth (Train Reuse, Museum, Flea Market) Urban Hub (Biomass Open Space - Amenities Area) Round-about Park (Events Space under Highway) Network-ing (Green Linear Connecting Network) Urban Oasis (Wild Nature Area) Urban Farming (Agriculture Area) Re-streaming (Rehabilitating the Stream) Refabricated Urbanity (New Attaction Pole Program) Village Urbanity (Revitilising the Neighborhood)

Fig.29: A Matrix of Strategies to be Used or avoided. By doing so, the intentions of the proposed future become clear, while the reference list offer an inside or an illustration of the future end-state.

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TO FOLLOW:

TO AVOID:

TO FOLLOW:

Integrating Program - Focusing on Public Space

One North Masterplan by Zaha Hadid Architects

Zone-ing the City

Thu Thiem New Urban Area by Keppel Land

Use of Procedural Program Revitilizing Tradition - Integrating Socioeconomic

The mounts theory Besançon (FR) Runner up EUROPAN - EUROPE

Additional Urban Commercial Program on the Base of Dynamic Model of Souks

Galerija Centrs Riga, Latvia

Additional Commercial Program

Chongwenmen Shopping Mall by MVRDV

Creating Space for Randomness, Openess and Users Participatory Design

Tempelhof Projekt GmbH by GROSS.MAX

Re-forming the City through Potentially Abandoned Spaces and Armatures

Estonoesunsolar Proyecto

Re-forming the City like a tabula rasa

Paris Master Plan

by Haussmann

Using Spatial Design Process / Adding Bottom_Up Spaces

I-5 Colonnade Mountain Bike Park

Working on the In-Between, Widening Public Space, Re-Using

A cidade informal, São Paulo, The Challenge of the Favelas

by F. Chiodelli

Erasing Non Convinient Part of the City “for the Common Wellness”

Kartal Pendik Masterplan by Zaha Hadid Architects

River Revitilization Connecting People to the Stream / River

Los Angeles River Restoration

Urban Corridor Connecting the City to the Park

Passeig del Cims de Montjuïc/ Montjuïc Heights Walk by Forgas Arquitectes

Green Connections (Over-desgined Greenery Ignoring Social Urban Factors)

SW Ecodistrict Initiative

Connecting and Polaring Urbanity

Infra-Space1: Underground at Ink Block by LANDING STUDIO

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TO AVOID:

TO FOLLOW:

TO AVOID:

Adding Linear Program (One Way Financially Driven Process)

Beirut Masterplan

by SOLIDERE

Connecting through Bridging with Open Public Space

Insecable Distance Vernon (FR) by TEAM DATAWinning EUROPAN - EUROPE

.Connecting with

Paris Master Plan

by Haussmann

Formal Design, Time Scheduled Process, Author’s Desicion Design

Beirut Masterplan

by SOLIDERE

Reuse of Previous .

Armatures with Rehabilitation Strategies

The 606 - High Line Network

.Erasing Previous

Paris Master Plan

by Haussmann

+

Planar Park Design

P

rogram

Reclamation and .

Rehabilitation of Older Infrastructures Hosting New Program

De Punt + Arbedpark Noord, Gent, Belgium

.Renovation /

Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord by Latz + Partner

Madrid Rio by MRIO Arquitectos and WEST8

Car Park Design . with Aim of Hosting Many Programmatic Uses Simultaneously

Park 'n' Play by JAJA Architects

.Car Park Design

Car Park Design by The Yard Creative

? .Polaring Urbanity as Attraction Poles without a major city-pole connectivity

Armatures and Adding New

Garyllis Linear Park

Linear Design Process

Restoring the River with Making it Inaccessible to Users

Literal Connections, Roads and Armatures

Restoration of Older Infrastructures as Thematic Spaces

with Aim of Hosting as many cars possible

?

Dubai Water Canal Project

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Some specific strategic models, filling the requirements for the above strategic categories are:

Sub_enclaves: A homogenous city carries a very strong character that could lead into exclusion of other social groups and integration. A heterogeneous city creates a feeling of lost identity leading to higher numbers of depression and suicide. The ideal lies in between them, as a sub_enclaved city, allows small spaces with cultivated feeling of identity, while their size and their boundaries with each other, promote the social metissage and social cultural migration from one sub-enclave to another.

A metropolis must contain a large number of different subcultures, each one strongly articulated with its own values sharply delineated and sharply distinguished from the other (ALEXANDER, 1977, pp. 47-50). Those subcultures need to be clearly separated but at the same time, open and rapidly accessible to one another, for a person being able to move easily and settle in the subculture that feels to suit them better. Additionally, those subcultures need to be mutually accessible and porous. When it comes to their spatial expression those subcultures shall owe their own spatial territory and being separated from others, not with strict limits and borders, rather with porous boundaries, creating in that way sub_enclaves.

For those sub_enclaves to resist on becoming enclaves, their size must be small, while keeping mutual open spaces, such as squares or commercial areas as boundary zones between sub_enclaves, can encourage their intercultural exchange.

Subcultures include identifiable neighborhoods, house clusters and subculture boundaries as explained above. Their proposed size varies between 45m and 150 m as proposed by ALEXANDER (1977). In addtion, the boundaries are necessary as they make the sub_enclaves a “saftey zone� for the actors to produce their own identity and in that way discourage the need of creating homogenous enclaves out of fear of losing their identity.

It is of great significance that a place provides personal subdivisions to users in order for them to claim it and create an emotional tie towards place. This can happen through an architectural division of space into smaller entities, allowing that way the personal connectivity within space. In addition, the activities in space effect the social density, as in sitting activities less people create a feeling of high social density and therefore negative connections of human and space (SYGGOLITOU, 1997, p. 136).

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Nature VS Nurture: “The dichotomy of city / nature is imposed on our understanding and perception of the urban experience. When the city is represented as the product of man and nature as the product of God (or universe formation), the former is presented as finite and ephemeral, while the latter is infinite and inspirational. Nature is the place of dreams, the starting point, and the safe cocoon, while the city is the unfortunate end of man’s deeds, the constant recession, and decay. Subsequently, the city carries the feeling of a sin, especially Beirut with its 15 years of civil war. […] Nature does not carry the traces of war as building and streets do” (SHAYA, 2010).

On the one hand, city becomes a living reminder of the past conflict by carrying the hate and memories of human’s previous actions.

Nature, on the other hand, becomes a tool for “amnesia and purification from reality”. Nature overtakes over battle places, erasing war imprints, while anything artificial carries those memories, either from a polaroid or a photograph of the time, or as the bullet marks signed the buildings’ walls.

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Agriculture:

Agronica, a concept conceived by Andrea Branzi is an experimental territory, where different programs such as food production, livestock grazing and leisure are movable and shifting according to demand (TROVATO, FARAJALLA, & TRUGLIO, 2016, p. 488). This concept promotes a model of self-organized urbanism, able to adapt in the demands of each era.

Understanding the rural culture complexity and adopting its values and traditional community practices can become a major tool in recovery rural areas from the post-war mentality. This happens through landscape architecture and the comprehending of local identity and shared heritage.

Ephemeral, dynamic, daily local’s needs conscious and evolving is the recovery narratives of landscape design (MAKHZOUMI, p. 15).

The agricultural layouts of the market gardens and orchards. In this case very closely tied to the course of the river, are fundamental to the organization of this space. An element or enormous Importance in shaping this whole side of the city-as important as the definition of the agricultural plots and the basin of the river itself (SOLΆ MORALES, 2008, p. 354)

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Participatory and Bottom_Up Design: Constructed as a grand project and heavily reliant on foreign experts (Charlesworth 2006: 118), Beirut’s new CBD is detached from the Lebanese context. It is illustrative of a process of privatization of the urban realm and the dominance of global economic trends instead of local social needs. […] This section’s opening citation asserts that the process of reconstruction has not included the participation of primary stakeholders: the civic society of Beirut. As it happened, the plan was developed from the ‘top-down’ and prioritized economic and physical, rather than social and cultural reconstruction (Sawalha 1997: 135; Charlesworth 2006; Beyhum 1992) (LECLAIR-PAQUET, 2013, pp. 20-12).

In a case that the actors are called to act in a situation, where the decisions have already been taken by the designer, then their behavior tends to be more aggressive with an overtaking feeling of dissatisfaction. Various alternative solutions or options, even after the decision making invites the actors into an interaction important in identification the space as theirs.

As with urban planning, urban design can encourage social equity and equal rights to the city by developing spaces designed informed by these ideals. It can also encourage the creation of intercultural spaces of socialization; the creation of places where social and economic status are no criteria for joining in by increasing physical and mental access to public and semi-public places (Madanipour 2003). Processes of participatory design have the power to engage divided communities into a discussion (LECLAIR-PAQUET, 2013, p. 9).

This paper has argued that the evolution along the continuum towards the cosmopolitan city should start with cross-cultural contacts. Looking at public places as neutral and impersonal arenas (Jacobs 1961), the streets, squares, parks, souks and markets of cities represent propitious places for such contacts to take place. However, in environments where identity has been strictly territorialized, contacts between different cultures are rare. Places where social exclusion takes a spatial dimension limit the possibility for cross-cultural contacts. This is problematic as it reinforces stereotypes by restricting conflicted individuals to construct subjective ideas of ‘others’.

Ali Madanipour (2003: 235) highlights the potential for the public realm as “a place where many-side truth co-exist and tolerance of different opinion is practiced”.

For this to happen, public spaces must be accessible. This is especially important in divided city, where social and mental barriers can limit access to members of specific cultural, ethnic or religious circles (LECLAIR-PAQUET, 2013, p. 16).

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Kids Platform:

Children, within this study, are seen as a potential tool on crossing the mental and social divisions that still separate the social structure of Beirut.

This might not happen within the current generation, but it promotes a mentality that can result great gentrification and integration within future generations.

A kid to identify itself is motivated to gain knowledge through the natural environment. The topological identity is considered as a sub-structure of the kid’s identity. Children, in the process of understanding themselves, develops relationships for important to them people, as well as through their experience with space, the artificial environment, and a series of objects and spaces. It is exactly this interaction between different spaces, linked to a differentiated social structure each, that contributes to creating a place identity. (SYGGOLITOU, 1997, pp. 106-109) Adventure playgrounds, where children, using material such as rope, nails and hammer, construct their own playground environment according to their will and inspiration (SYGGOLITOU, 1997, p. 173). Those playgrounds are usually used by older kids in their try to establish their own environment and avoid the supervision of parents, usually linked to the traditional playgrounds.

While traditional playgrounds can become a great method of “staging events� for adults in an effort to break their mental borders, as they see their kids playing with other social group kids, the adventure playgrounds can establish similar mentality break down among children.

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Wild Nature / Forests:

People tend to resort into wild nature areas, in order to escape the density of the urbanized areas. Usually the recourse to natural wild environments happens in an effort of a person to distress oneself, where they tend to act in ways that are absent in their city urban behavior and interaction.

Moreover, people most likely to uses wild nature environments are educated people or city people (SYGGOLITOU, 1997, pp. 171-172). Those areas can act as an area of high integration among people of higher “social profile�, young people and farmers from the surrounding region.

Continues urban sprawling destroys life and makes cities unbearable. One way to avoid that is to increase the connections and accessibility between city and the countryside, as environments of wild nature, open fields and agriculture are making people feeling more comfortable and empowers the experience of their city (ALEXANDER, 1977, p. 22).

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Methodology and Research Design Following the Literature Review and Previous Global Secretariat Knowledge, this study is working with that knowledge in order to create a strategic model on finding solutions for reviving the urbanity within the city.

A historical research is being processed in order to investigate the facts and events that led to today’s city’s formation and better understand the reasons that an area (area under study) with a great potential remained a residue within a city of events.

Quantitative research is made for facts connected to the stream, while those are being compared and cross checked from multiple sources. Furthermore, those are used in order to bring a solid case to proposed elements such as the wetlands, in order to prove that those are possible according to the quantitative measurements. Stimulation and modeling of the area is used to produce geological and hydrological data in approximation of 40 to 40 meters’ detail for the area, as the literature review does not provide them.

Qualitative research is done during the period of this study, as references, influences and observations are being kept in a sketchbook. That sketchbook works as a motivational research map, both for the urban actors, as well as for the author. Many of things commended there are presented within this study.

Through this motivational research is attempted to identify and map forces and influences that actors may not be aware of (cultural and sociological forces), as well as political events taking place within the Middle East Mediterranean Sea basin that might influence the site. For those observations, the assumption that the urban and social structures between Lebanon’s Beirut and Cyprus’ cities such as Nicosia and Limassol, are actually very similar, while behaviors along the Green Line might be similarly understood in both countries.

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Actors: Millennials Young People Lobbyists Hands-on People Policy Makers Real Estate Ad Hoc Livers Artists Refugees Neighbors Farmers Fauna Flora others unknown 1. Commons 2. Autonomous Area 3. Cultural and Physical Activity 4. Participatory Process 5. Encourage or Discourage Activities 6. Interdisciplinary Design Team 7. Probability Model 8. Topographic Economies 9. Perception Shif Design 10. Environmental Approach 11. Civic Participation 12. Adaptability in Time 13. Human Ecosystems 14. Urban Ecosystems 15. Ecological Sustainability 16. Chaos, Leak Point, Shift_Point 17. Productive Land-City_scape 18. Domino Effect (a series of Events) 19. Sub_enclaves 20. NO HUMAN’S YET EVERYONE’S LAND

mobilization of disciplines: urbanism, town planning, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, sociology, economy, politics, environmental psychology, cognitive psychology, philosophy, visual or performative arts, anthropology, policy making, . . .

Fig.30: The approach matrix between recruited disciplines (blue text), addressed actors (red text) and aims (black text). Comparative map of the chosen area in Beirut and the Central Park, NY, USA.

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Anthropological observations as to developing hypotheses about human motives and behavioral mental or spatial patterns are pioneered. Living in an established environment named extremely similar by “natives” and visitors of the two countries, is an important acceptance based upon the qualitative method for this study is made.

Analogies can be seen upon the urbanization methods of development, but most importantly previous common or similar experiences (civil wars, post war mentality, division similarities etc.), as well as behavioral social ritual similarities (people’s openness, friendliness etc.).

After multiple assumptions are being made by the author, those are challenged through interviews, communication and friendly conversations with locals, previous citizens, academicians and people with considerable knowledge of the topological area of study (Beirut and Lebanon / Middle East) and people of the fields or disciplines recruited (Architects, Urbanists, Landscape Architects, Environmental Engineers, Hydrology Engineers, Clinical and Environmental Psychologists, Cognitive Psychologists, Sociologists, Spatial Computational Intelligence Analysts etc.) (see.Fig.30).

Moreover, the knowledge from the results of a previous theoretical research on a similar project (Madrid Rio) by the author, – and the results arose by interviews, questionnaires, citizen’s or actor’s drawing interpretation (as a cognitive strategy) along with its interpretation with a clinic psychologist, non-formal or informal knowledge of the area by personal experience or locals’ opinion, and literature review –, are used as correlational methodology during the design or proposed strategies for the proposal.

Finally, experimental research is used for the definition of the problem and the identification of underlying networks and synergies. This formulates hypotheses used in developing the attractors that might work for the area, while constricting and experimental design that represents those element, conditions and consequences, in an effort to predict the negativity or positivity of the results effected. As such groups of locals were asked about their feelings on areas, their habits and hobbies in order to produce productive models of empowering synergies in the area (see. Fig.31).

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Fig.31: Map delivered by a Person when asked to map the area and important elements of the city and its character

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Mapping Analysis and Conclusions

Fig.32: Map illustrating Landform Topography (satellite image), the governing divisions (dashed lines), the chosen area site as a white triangle, the important green spaces (neglected or designed), the soft ground residue areas and the agricultural activity with the area chosen to map (white continues line). For more detail see Fig.14

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Beirut as mentioned above is divided in two major areas defined as Beirut and Greater Beirut. Beirut can be mostly topographically described as a plain and valley basin, while Achrafieh district is build up on a low hill. The area extends at a hilly loess area leading into a landform of mountains.

In terms of governing, the city is subdivided into governorates. The major districts are Beirut and Mount Lebanon. Mount Lebanon is then subdivided into Aley, Chouf,Jbeil, Keserwan, Baabda and Matn Governorates, with the latter two, as well as Beirut Governorate subdividing and governing the chosen area site.

The city is highly urbanized with great absence of open public space. As depicted on the Fig.32, the ratio between green space (green) to the space occupied by the built areas is extremely low, while a similar ratio hold the soft ground open spaces (pink), usually holding the uses of parking lots or areas to be built. The agriculture areas (crimson) are seen mostly where the urbanization seems to be dissolving itself and the loess area is met, always by the stream basin valley.

One of the most fascinating facts for the city, is that the social living has imprinted itself in the urban tissue (see.Fig.33). Along with the figure ground of the area (see. Photo 17).

A typology analysis proves to be a quick tool to understand each area’s status and social life. Governmental buildings seem to try to symbolically overrule themselves on space, be the means of scale (big in size) and identifiable morphologies (designed as unique shapes) according to the era that were designed and constructed.

Religious buildings are found in a dense tempo, while they seem to be “stack” among the residential buildings, but differentiate themselves from them with a small public space to be attached to the road, pushing the buildings further to the center of each city block. Education buildings, similarly are found as complexes of small rectangular buildings, along with the main school “L” or “U” shape typologies, shaping an inner yard in the center of each complex.

The most fascinating fact, maybe it is the easy recognition of each built morphology and their social categorization.

New residences seem to be overwhelming big compared to the traditional housing of the traditional neighborhood (see. Photo 15), while the rural residence loose and of low density, as it is attached to yards and agricultural land pieces. The refugee settlements, low in height are extremely dense with very few free space between mostly used as parking or pathways. Finally, the slum area is characterized by its small coverage region and the vis a vis series of housing attached to each other (see. Photo 16).

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Fig.33: Figure Ground of the Chosen Site. In black the built environment, black line is the stream canal, lines depict roads.

Fig.33.: Figure Ground of the Chosen Site. In black the built environment, black line is the stream canal, lines depict roads.

Fig.34: Urban Morphology Analysis of the Chosen Area. As on Figure Ground (see. Photo 17). Taxonomy and Categorisation of Ground Level Use among the buildings, according to their uses. Five major typologies read from figure ground imprinting social life. Pie Charts of the Ground Floor Uses according to each type and compared to ground housing.

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Traffic - Speed analysis shows that those are two measures in inverse proportion.

Low speed roads(red) seem to gather higher traffic density , allowing the easier accesibility or crossing from pedestrians, while high speed roads seem to become a barrier for the pedestrians. The chosen site is sharply bordered by a high speed road.

Fig.35: Traffic / Speed

Urban Grid – City Mesh analysis shows the immense differences between social groups (similarly to Fig. 33), while dead-ends seem to be very often at areas of high density and urbanization. Many of the newly developed areas (chosen site and rural area) seem to lack of a continuous road grid network.

On circles are major nodes connecting areas and armatures.

Fig.36: Urban Grid / City Mesh

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The uses map illustrates areas with great activity, important to the social fabric of the city. Depicted are religious buildings, green spaces, state buildings, industries, hotels, commercial use shops, restaurants or bars, schools, military facilities, hospitals or health institutes etc.

Of great significance is the Damascus Street (parallel to the highway on the west of the chosen site, while great gatherings seem to be around central Achrafieh region, Bourj Hammoud area and the newround about nodes within the rural area.

Those uses are the ones providing more details about the underlying structure and social expression of rituals among the area.

With circles is illustrated the concentration of similar uses to each area and their dense.

Fig.37: Ground Floor Uses

The chosen area seems to be of great importance when it comes to human perception and oritantion cognition in the area. The Spatial Memory map points to that, while sets the significance of the site due to its visual influence.

The red areas point towards a landmark or of high importance building or city element (such as park), with its linear structure pointing to the distance of where an observer begins to perceive each landmark. Many views are cut due to other buildings in front. This analysis is based on plan openess and topographical (section) awareness.

Fig.38: Spatial Memory / Visual Influence

“A cognitive map represents at least three coorelated elements. The unique modules or elements infrormation of consisting the environmental space, the relationships between cognitive distance, direction, immediacy and familiarity of space, as well as any information as to the social environment and possible eventing with the actors found within it (KOSMOPOULOS, 2000, p. 97).�

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The above map indicates the environmental to social correlation between each free or open space within the site.

The main working area is depicted with dark dashed line.

There are five main surface area types: 1. Dark green –Neglected Green Spaces 2. Light Green – Cultivated or Agriculture Zones 3. Dark Brown – Cemeteries 4. Orange – Industrial Hard Ground Surfaces 5. Light Orange – To be built now soft ground This patchwork allows an understanding of each part of the area as to which degree environmental or social strategies will be used. Main aim is to increase ground porosity towards storm water, therefore many orange areas shall be reformed to green ones, dark green to be designed or add elements that will allow access to the public flows and light orange areas shall be kept as much as possible to their current condition or to add green elements.

Light orange areas are the surfaces most appropriate and immediately open to host different evens, as they are not neglected, have clean soil surfaces and they do not host cars or industrial debris as orange areas do.

Fig.39: Surface Patchwork

The area is described as a valley between two hills. One to the north-west Achrafieh area and one to the south-east area of the site.

With red are depicted the major roads and highways as to access the area.

Those seem to be either perpendicular or to follow parallel the topographical routes.

Again with dark dashed line is the chosen work on area and with lighter one the generic chosen area.

Folded Drawing Left

Landmark buildings are kept in order to make the map recognizable.

Fig.40: Topography

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The storm water path is illustrated above. The major sloped paths the rain uses to meet the stream.

The dark blue circles depict natural water basins that hold water for some time after storms and wet seasons. Those points can become indicators for great agricultural networks and/ or incentives for new developments and trading system.

The natural pathways seem to follow their own path away from roads, a thing that needs to be reformed, by adding roads that will allow parallel SUD systems to help contain, clean, store and finally guide the rest of the storm water to its natural destination.

A conclusion coming from overlapping this map with the Urban Grid / City Mesh Map. Fig.41: Watershed

The Flood risk area as described before is the main valley that describes the chosen area’s triangular shaped, surrounded by the highways.

This area falls into great flood risk, a risk that statistically occurs every hundred (100) years.

The flood zone extends towards the estuary on north, while a major secondary valley is extended to the east.

This map, overlapped with the topography map suggests the best points for constructing wetlands.

An important point to the flood management is the node point where the stream canal changes its direction (lower south area on the map), a point that holds great pressure during the wet season and that can become the leak point of the canal system.

It is also a great point for remediation of the water.

Fig.42: Flood Risk

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Left: Folded Drawing Right: Fig.43: Potential Areas to Work On. Those areas include parking lots used by locals, empty spaces, previously industrial yards, the old railway stationed now chalica ground, agricultural areas that will be reformed into urban farming, etc.

Down: Fig.B: Generic Site Plots Analysis and Chosen Area The collages above are a quick study on the empty plots or surface that could be potentially used for the needs of this project. From left to right: The first drawing is a figure ground of such areas with black illustrating the empty surfaces. The second one shows the circles of the 800m diameter of utility walk (e.g. transportation or first need shops) and the 2km walking distance average of people walk within the city. The third one more clearly illustrates the state land within those empty plots, while the last one demonstrates the directionality from the urban area towards the river valley and suburban or agricultural land.

Folded Drawings Right: See. Fig. 33, 35-42

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Fig.C: Generic land-use map comparison between years 2016(above) and 2018 (down) demonstrating the all rapid changes of the chosen area due to the forces of real estate, state and other minor factors

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Tools and Methods of Design Strategy is a well-organized plan of action that negotiates uncertain and chaotic conditions, by which is restricted and guided for the achievement of specific aims. A strategy is forming a series of actions, predicting a variety of possible reactions.

The adaptability and uncertainty describe precisely the reactions of a strategy into a spectrum of chaining effects.

The under study areas, have great potential and essential functions of environmental compensation and protection vital to regaining the eco-systemic equilibrium as potential for education, recreation and cultural and historical identity. That can transform the ground into a land of great economic value (TROVATO, FARAJALLA, & TRUGLIO, 2016).

Working on sub_enclaving, the creation of neighborhoods is necessary. Neighborhoods are effectively configuring a territory that is to a certain extent linked to the central city but at the same time, by virtue of its far more autonomous and diversified structure. In that way it establishes the conditions for detachment from it (SOLΆ MORALES, 2008, p. 346). Thus, forming an anarchy that we might need in reforming the future structure as a bottom up proposal.

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Through the research an urban strategies matrix was prepared, aiming mostly on five categories. Increasing urban porosity towards public flows, up surging the accessibility with the use of armatures and infrastructures, adding or empowering the attraction poling of the area, creating or promoting collectives to take place, and considering environmental sustainability as a subsidiary factor to achieving the previous while ensuring the future management of the area (see.Fig.45).

Other categorizations of the same exact strategies are those linked to (see.Fig.45): 1. Urban Amenities 2. Blue Networks 3. Green Networks 4. Ground Treatment 5. Spatial Treatment 6. Urban Connections 7. Seasoning and Timing While each of them negotiates on of the following systems or networks: 1. New Ecosystems 2. New Subsidiary Systems 3. Attraction or Production Poles 4. Sustainability (of any kind / long-term results) 5. Infrastructures that Promote Urbanity and Commons 6. Edge or Territorial Limits / Borders/ Boundaries

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URBAN STRATEGIES MATRIX Inside: Fig.45: Urban Matrix. A series of Urban Strategies Used in the Proposal (based on and some after S. STRATIS’ Strategies Atlas)

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Fig.44: Urban Matrix Categorization Legend

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Nahr Beirut river Other rivers or streams Nahr Beirut’s watershed Nahr Beirut’s estuary Contours every 40m height

sandy red earth / sand sandy red earth / pebbles bassalt hard sandstone / puddingstone argilous sandy limestone puddingstone / breccia marly limestone & conglomerate marly limestone dolomitic limestone dark laminites / breccia dunes /soft sandstone sandy green marl limestone green marl pale grey massive limestone / chert siliceous rock ochre laminite / chert alluvium / scree / sago limestone brown earth / pebbles pale grey marine limestone

Fig.46: Layered Cake of the Watershed Region, First Layer Bottom: Topography, Second Layer Middle: Ground Geological Map, Third Layer Up: The Watershed Region, Stream Flows Network

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Mediterranean sea shore Contours every 40m height

Environmental Design and Stream Revival

Watershed system A watershed is an entire river system—an area drained by a river and its tributaries. The Beirut’s river watershed system extends itself to the area of the Mount Lebanon. Through ARCGIS and as a data source the Aster V2 with an accuracy at forty by forty meters (40x40m), doing different trials for better calculations the greater system of the watershed measures at 315,1 km2 (see Fig.46, upper layer). The second system, that of the area if watershed reaching the see, the data seem to be extremely flat, a factor that contributes in providing false result, but the area of that section measures at 45,66 km2. Those measuring allow an understanding of the storm water collection into the stream and the possibility of constructing wetlands.

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Meandering Stream The riffle-pool sequence is the most important element for understanding the formation of a naturalized stream. The water is distributed in a sequence of quiescent segments (pools) linked together by rapid segments (riffles) (MARSH, 1983).In order to maintain this riffle-pool sequence it is significant to return the stream at a high flow. A way of doing so, is rising the discharge resulting higher velocity and water depth.

Meandering streams, as Beirut River, are channels that follow a series of meander geometry channels. It is produced by the swinging movement of the flow from side to side as it flows across its floodplain or shifts its channel within a valley. A meander is produced by a stream or river as it erodes the sediments comprising an outer bank and deposits this and other sediment downstream on an inner bank.

Active meanders are continually changing with that lateral erosion and deposition process. In addition to that process, cutting by the channel in widening the valley and building the floodplain, other processes contribute to valley formation and composition, such as slumping, overland flow and gullying (MARSH, 1983).

Fig.47: Section of the Current Situation perpetual to the canalized stream in scale 1:1000

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Flood Control The current Beirut river situation (see. Fig.47) was constructed on the basis of controlling the flood risk, although unsuccessfully, as the existing channel will overflow towards the urban areas, in case of a heavy rain or storm.

The area’s ground is in favor of changing this. The chosen area system consists mostly of alluvium ground and marly limestone and conglomerate or sandy cover ground. The area adjacent to the stream channel is alluvium (see.Fig.46 middle layer).

The Natural levees, scour channels, back swamps and terraces are common floodplain features. Levees are mounds of sediment deposited along the river bank by floodwaters. Scour channels are shallow channels etched into the floodplain by flood waters. Terraces are elevated parts of floodplain that form when a river down cuts and begins to establish a new elevation (MARSH, 1983). Those, artificially made are great “naturalized� anti-measures against regional overflow, overflow and flood control amongst others, while offering places with a unique character that will eventually restore the natural ecosystem.

In regions such as the New Biel, where the ground is alluvium, when restoring the artificially naturalized stream the area is in danger of collapsing after the erosion. In order to avoid that, a combination of soft and hard engineering tactics is used. The usage of gabion walls as a first defense against erosion and a linear plantation of strong root trees such as oaks (see. Fig.48) is implied (see. Fig.48).

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Remediation Phytoremediation is the direct use of living green plants for in situ, or in place, removal, degradation, or containment of contaminants in soils, sludges, sediments, surface water and groundwater.

The dynamic environments of streams are very attractive to a huge number of organisms and their communities to take over.

Life is nurtured and sustained by the stream of water, energy, and nutrients while it can be destroyed by the same flow system.

Fig.48: A: List of Chosen Trees that are appropriate to the area and have high qualities against Carbon, Carbon Dioxide, and PM10 air particles.

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Floodplain and riparian vegetation are resilient and sensitive to variations on drainage processes and conditions on the valley floor. Those distinctive vegetation patterns and zones are important for both improving the quality of water and increasing the habitats of the ecosystem, as they offer “housing� opportunities to animals and organisms.

A riparian forest is also important to the aquatic habitat, as its root masses and fallen trunks diversify the channel topography and improve any aquatic habitats.

Moreover, for small streams, forest canopies shade the summer channel, thereby helping maintain cool temperatures essential to trout habitat (MARSH, 1983), while riparian vegetation is the principal source for food for many organisms of the ecosystem.

Fig.48: B: Table of Chosen Trees that are appropriate to the area and have high qualities against Carbon, Ozone, .

Carbon Dioxide, and PM10 air particles.

Fig.48: C: Table List by Green In Urbs of plants suitable for the chosen area and high in phytoremedation qualities.

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Fig.48: D: Extensive List of Chosen Plantation (mostly indigenous) that is appropriate to the area stating their needs in space, water and sun

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Wetlands

As already mentioned above the Area date of the watershed, the data for the river flow (see. Problematic: Physical Landscape chapter) and the changes into a naturalized stream, with increased water flow by soft and hard engineering methods allows the construction of wetlands.

A wetland is a place where the land is covered by water, while marshes and ponds, the edge of a lake, the estuary or delta at the mouth of a river, low-lying areas that frequently flood are just some of them. Wetlands are some of the most productive habitats on the planet (World Wildlife Fund (WWF), n.d.).

They often support high concentrations of animals—including mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates—and serve as nurseries for many of these species. Wetlands also support the cultivation of rice, canes, sugarcanes, cotton, corn etc. And they provide a range of ecosystem services that benefit humanity, including water filtration, storm protection, flood control and recreation.

Fig.49: Constructed Wetlands: Flood Models

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Social importance

Without wetlands, cities have to spend more money to treat water for their citizens, floods are more devastating to nearby communities, storm surges from hurricanes can penetrate farther inland, animals are displaced or die out, and food supplies are disrupted, along with livelihoods. Many governments and other organizations have pursued efforts to conserve and protect wetlands from destruction.

It is very important for both humans and wildlife to have areas as such.

The psychological needs of human to escape from the urbanized cities, the offer of a calm place with power and a dynamic area that can act as incentives on controlling both production either agricultural or buildings (real estate incentives and greater land value) are some of the benefits such places might have.

In order to place this, though, to a realistic frame we need to understand that the high costs of artificially restoring and in the case of Beirut reconstructing a naturalized channel are in an excess that no government today would offer, despite any future long term economic motivations. In order to place it into the pragmatic world of today’s liberal or in the case of Lebanon neoliberal policies, a development in time to reduce the budget seems to be appropriate.

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Sedimentation Excavation New Stream Route

Fig.50: Model of the Naturalized Artificial Stream, showing the procedures needed to shape it in time. The excavation will begin by excavating each layer (starting from the dark blue towrds light blue), acting as a guide to the winter water to excavate more. The excavation process will happen within a period of 30 years, as a combination of the artificial guiding excavation and the natural winter water ‘s channel guiding the summer’s excavation.

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The SUD systems and wetlands are restoration tactics of low cost, solar energy driven cleanup techniques and very effective. In addition to it, a better quality water and a stream system of greater velocity allows the placement of a biomass plant that can use the agriculture residues of the nearby productive cultivation, which on their turn make use of the future naturalized stream, leading to a great energy production. Moreover, a right design of the biomass plant, can become a catalyst for social life, while improving the welfare of surrounding neighborhoods and other.

The most expensive measure need to be taken is probably the highway.

When the wetland-to-be-constructed regions were chosen, according to topography, watershed formation (storm water pathway) and stream flow needs (see. Fig.46, layer cake), it came up that parts of the highway should allow the stream to flow underneath. Unfortunately erasing the highway or shifting it to a bridge it is highly costly. In order to do so, two parts only were chosen at an approximated between 80-100 m each that shall turn into bridges. This will happen in two phases and after many years that the stream formation will already had taken its toll. The first will be the entrance of water towards the chosen site area, and the second can be happen a year later and will be the return of the stream to the previous channel.

The restoration, although, should continue after that, when the results of this partial reformation will be obvious and measurable. In that way, government and citizens, actors and urban agents, can proceed in reforming the whole area.

Fig.51: Model to be followed in phytoremediating the stream adjacent to agricultural areas, while allowing the social life take place within it. Š 2018, UTH, I. Carydi, V. Chionidou, N. Silkina, A. Panayiotou

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Actors and “Attractors� Dynamics Actors are of great importance in this proposal. Actors become the factor of change, while the ground illustrates the physical and spatial expression of their needs. Some of them are explained as below. This happens for every module of attractor described in the Fig. 52. A combination of those modules in order to create hybrid spaces is not only possible but of great importance as well (see. Fig.53), as their correlations to create hybrid spaces are seen in Fig. 55-57.

NGO and Lobbies: Western-funded NGOs have a ubiquitous presence in Lebanon. There are hundreds of organizations today in Lebanon, most of them based in Beirut. Through these organizations thousands of Lebanese, mostly young people are exposed to internationalized discourses about citizenship and the environment through participation in activities. Those activities span from eco-tourism, camping, scouting, local preservation initiatives to leadership training programs and school curricula (NAGEL & STAEHELI, 2016).

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New Souks Trading Area: The coexistence between housing and commercial shops empowers the use of external environments among the habitats, whomthey entangling others on exiting the houses.

Moreover, the narrow streets are increasing the active social living outside the habitations (SYGGOLITOU, 1997, p. 221).

The souks model, a traditional Lebanese housing-shopping district model seems quite appropriate. The area needs to revitalise its original tradition, a thing, absent in the city centre, and an element that contemporary tourism strives to search for.

The separation between houses and work creates rifts in people’s emotional lives, with children growing up in areas with no human activity during the day, family ties are getting looser as the members are spending less time in “common ground” and work is emotionally charged and burden as a non-living toil, lacking the living of the family bonding (ALEXANDER, 1977, p. 25).

It seems now, that the Souk Model is more relevant than ever.

This model can take a new urban form as seen below:

Fig.E: Proposed Section of the Attachment of the Prototype modules creating the new urban space

Fig.D: Urban Prototype of the Trading area Souk’s Workshop and/orcomercial store

Fig.F: Plan of the Trading area Prototype showing the passages, green spaces and workshops/ stores

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Market: In the context of Lebanon where social encounters most commonly take place in open public places and markets (or souks) (as opposed to commercial streets like is the case in Continental Europe, or malls in American suburbia), the design of these places is of crucial importance (LECLAIR-PAQUET, 2013, p. 22).

Square: In the question of what expands public social life nothing seems more appropriate than a square. Through its ancient expression of the Greek Agora, a square is the space that hosts the social change. A square becomes the stage on which social life and wellbeing are improved.

Fig.52: Hybrid Formations on Ground while Managing Seasoning.

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Fig.53: Sections showing the application of Attractors by Region

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SURFACES

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EVENT RELATED SURFACES

PAVILIONS

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

BUILD STRUCTURES

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

Modules of Attractors Game Pawns

EVENT RELATED ELEMENTS

Fig.54: Attractors Modules List.

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ANCILLARY SPACES

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SUSTAINABILITY MODEL

GROUND TREATMENT

OTHER

Urban Matrix Game Rules

Fig.55: Hybrid Formations Categories Between Attractors

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Fig.56: Applied Attractors Modules Map.

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Fig.57: Hybrid Formations Between Attractors.

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DISCUSSION 3

The proposed design methodology is neither a top-down approach nor a bottom-up one. It is a call of social action for anyone interested on speaking her/his opinion on her/his surrounding environment. There is a great misunderstanding nowadays, that cities only interest decision makers (politicians), immediate beneficiaries (real estate agents etc.) architects and town planners or that any specialist or technocrat is a good at his/her work. That is in need of a great change. As we seen before, a polis or a city is the human’s and therefore a social group’s aim for self-accomplishment. If only few people are deciding on the making, then one should talk about authoritarianism and oligarchy in city making.

A top down approach is lacking of sensitivity for city’s underlying structures and surviving mechanisms, whereas a bottom up approach is very easily rejected as unofficial or non-educational. This study provides an alternative to either.

Through encouraged and “guided” bottom up approaches one manages to surface and face those underlying structures, mentalities and mechanisms of a city on either financial, social or sustainability level, which later on through a more “top-down” oriented approach one institutionalizes those needs, desires and ideas expressed through the bottom up “period”, by suggesting and proposing educational alternatives, through examples and references.

Always a designer must have in its own mind basic strategies and a strategic plan, which will not be forced by the designer towards the others either by persuasion, hidden intentions, force and violence and/or other means, rather than transparent and well expressed arguments or examples. Crafting decision-making happens through strategic design.

Having a crafted “library” of strategies can help upon approaching sustainably˙ any kind of issues provided or raised at any given time, while at its majority strategic approach, as future-oriented design seems to be timeless for ‘human and object’s’ physical ontological standards.

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Above: Fig.G: The model of the Chosen Area overlapped with the Flood Risk map projection.

Page 126: Fig.H: Model of the Chosen Area in scale 1:2500, dimensions 1.85 x 160cm lighted with the directionality of Beirut’s winter morning sun.

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A strategic approach allows any kind of uncertainty to enter the negotiation debate, while always keeping the aims and scopes clear and focused to be addressed. Strategically acting is systemic challenging and addressing problems or issues, as well as redefining how those problems are approached. In addition, strategic design identifies opportunities for action, and helps deliver more complete and resilient solutions. A phrase that I hate, but could provide a good understanding of what strategic design actually can do, is that all the problems within the strategic approach are addressed at a “DNA” level.

Whatever happens at the outer self, does not effect the way that a system works, rather just temporarily provides an “alternative” to it.

If one manages to reach that “DNA” then s/he can speak about actually guiding, encouraging or discouraging events, situations or behaviors within a (given) space.

It is about changing by de facto a de facto situation which is later on institutionalized into an organic in time development specifically based on both citizens and market needs at not a common ground, rather a ground that both are not satisfied. It seems justice to say that everyone immediately affected by the project will be unhappy with the proposal at first. The reason for that is that one of the main goals of this proposal is the long-term sustainability on all social, environmental and economic levels. We as human beings tend to focus on tangible and immediate results and anything beyond this is not working and therefore a bad solution.

Personally, I would consider it a great success if I could manage to create a feeling of anger to the actors and agents involved at a similar degree and by no means make them feel unfair treatment. If they feel angry is due to the loss of a traditional view of reaching resources, whereas if a feeling of injustice is created then it would mean that some of my treatment might affect the essential living or the in-der-welt-sein of the same agents or actors.

Layering the analysis provides other results, it provides the genius loci and the space’s will, which is rather a result of a negotiation similar to human’s decision making mechanism and balance between, needs, wills and desires, conscious and subconscious. For example, the proper sustainable and environmental design would suggest to follow the hydrological data and water paths, whereas in the current situation of our contemporary cities’ this could be even impossible.

Therefore, a “golden ration” could be followed as to water’s path slope direction and road infrastructure lines could be more beneficially both environmentally and socially.

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“Not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.�

Stephen Hawking

4. EXPECTED RESULTS REASEARCH RESULTS AND EXAMPLE PROPOSAL

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Urban Development through Time

Time is what gives the opportunity for social interactions and bonding to take place.

Particular constructions of time challenge or enact particular forms of relationality.

This happens, as society is structured or developed upon time understanding, while is common things to change in time. In that way, time becomes the host of any change, and the mediator of chaos attraction and chaining within social and physical structures.

Time is, also, a great factor for minimizing the project’s budget. It also allows a higher degree of adaptability and an ongoing negotiation process among urban actors and urban agencies, responsible for the implementation of such projects (e.g. state, real estate, developments, private investors, etc.). The tendency of this time Interpretation has been to emphasize only the prior values of the initial project and to see Its development over time as an ongoing process or degradation or the original idea (SOLΆ MORALES, 2008, p. 302).

Therefore, the project begins with small interventions that will later if successful, will change the perception of the area, allowing the next great change to happen.

It is important that the actors themselves engage within this development, with them deciding what’s important to them through time. Boards, NGOs, Lobbies always express their needs one way or another and this can be institutionalised within proposal’s next steps.

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1. stream

2. constructed wetlands

3. stream banks

4. squares

5. open market

6. biomass plant

7. events’ platforms

8. trading area

9. green areas/parks

10. urban forest

11. sport platforms

12. kids platforms

13. urban farming

14. agriculture

15. all surfaces

16. road and blue network

17. green and blue networks

18. figure ground plan

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A.

B.

In order to begin the reformation on space, firstly we need to observe signs of mentality reformation. Signs that people, in this case as targeted, youth, need to show up and claim the events space promoted, as well as organizing their protocols in space.

The reformation strategy begins only by increasing the porosity of the area to public flows, as well as revitalising the accessibility to the site. In that way, the site is no longer just a spatial reclamation project, rather than a social mentality generator, developing the needed stimuli in a specific future time.

The roads connections are the most important to go first. Those will provide the accessibility needed to the area. Bridges shall be slowly developing in order to reduce the costs, while at the same time a plant nursery will act as urban farming and when the trees are matured enough will be moved into their “permanent” host spaces. Where those green spaces will be of “wild” neglected almost nature, those threes will be planted facing the directionality of the air, as air can be a mediator for spreading their seeds to the rest of the site.

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C.

Pages 132-133: Fig.58: The Development of Urban Elements in Time without the Road Mesh.

Left: Fig.I: Comparison of the imaginary proposal in three states.

A. The proposal in its normal spring situation.

B. The proposal in its overflow (rough winter) situation.

C. The proposal in flood situation (every 100 years).

Unlike projects such as Madrid Rio or LA River Restoration Project, that are of no need on working on a mental level, in Beirut the memories of the civil war might well overtake the whole initiative for generating public space and instead provide a space very similar to Horsh Beirut and the green line.

Finally, the stream restoration shall happen in time, in order to make the costs, affordable. Even by recreating two parts of the highway into bridges the costs are of high value and acts as a preventing factor. The stream shall be shaped by digging specific turns of the Meander and letting time to do the rest on wet seasons. The soil residues removed will be used in order to turn the canal into a naturalised linear park.

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Possible Urban Scenario Applied Masterplan

2020

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Fig.59: The Development in Time. With Yellow are seen Applied Regional Tactics (e.g. Agriculture) and with Yellow Designed Project Elements (e.g. Market, Biomass Plant, Park Design, Wetlands) before the implementation.

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Chosen Site, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon Š Author

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Possible Urban Scenario Applied Masterplan

2021

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Fig.60: The Development in Time. With Yellow are seen Applied Regional Tactics (e.g. Agriculture) and with Yellow Designed Project Elements (e.g. Market, Biomass Plant, Park Design, Wetlands) during its first year of implementation.

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Market in Turin, Italy Š Mael Balland

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Possible Urban Scenario Applied Masterplan

2022

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Fig.61: The Development in Time. With Yellow are seen Applied Regional Tactics (e.g. Agriculture) and with Yellow Designed Project Elements (e.g. Market, Biomass Plant, Park Design, Wetlands) during its second year of implementation.

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Londond Fields, London, UK Š Robert Bye

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Possible Urban Scenario Applied Masterplan

2024

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Fig.62: The Development in Time. With Yellow are seen Applied Regional Tactics (e.g. Agriculture) and with Yellow Designed Project Elements (e.g. Market, Biomass Plant, Park Design, Wetlands) during its fourth year of implementation.

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Madrid Rio Park, Madrid, Spain Š Author

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Possible Urban Scenario Applied Masterplan

2027

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Fig.63: The Development in Time. With Yellow are seen Applied Regional Tactics (e.g. Agriculture) and with Yellow Designed Project Elements (e.g. Market, Biomass Plant, Park Design, Wetlands) during its seventh year of implementation.

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Madrid Rio Park, Madrid, Spain Š Author

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Possible Urban Scenario Applied Masterplan

2032

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Fig.64: The Development in Time. With Yellow are seen Applied Regional Tactics (e.g. Agriculture) and with Yellow Designed Project Elements (e.g. Market, Biomass Plant, Park Design, Wetlands) during its twelfth year of implementation.

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Qunli Stormwater Wetland Park, Haerbin, China Š Turenscape

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Possible Urban Scenario Applied Masterplan

2040

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Fig.65: The Development in Time. With Yellow are seen Applied Regional Tactics (e.g. Agriculture) and with Yellow Designed Project Elements (e.g. Market, Biomass Plant, Park Design, Wetlands) during its twentieth year of implementation.

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City Park, Denver, Colorado, USA Š Cassie Gallegos

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Possible Urban Scenario Applied Masterplan

2053

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Fig.66: The Development in Time. With Yellow are seen Applied Regional Tactics (e.g. Agriculture) and with Yellow Designed Project Elements (e.g. Market, Biomass Plant, Park Design, Wetlands) during its thirty-third year of implementation.

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Crescent Park Trail, New Orleans, Los Angeles, USA © Rebecca Ratliff

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Discussing the Actions Model As a picture is worth a thousand words, in the following diagram are seen the correlation and their interrelation strength between the different major strategies (see. arrows), their generic aims (see legend), their leading strategic results (text between the bubbles) and the all in all expected strategic result.

Each arrow is showing how strong the connections between each “bubble� is, while some very basic strategies are inscribed next to them in an effort to proclaim what is the underlying aftereffect the connection of those bubbles might bring.

Fig.67: Actions Strategic Model.

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Fig.68: Map showing the exact Sections’ Position.

Fig.70: Section Mapping a Possible Future Scenario in scale 1:1000.

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Fig.69: Sections of the Current Situation perpetual to the canalized stream in scale 1:2500.

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The continuous formation of strategic partnerships amongst a variety of urban actors (or agents), alongside their joined actions, are those that shape a city. “Injection” approaches, seem more appropriate for urban areas, as a form of a non-linear strategic approach aiming to reshape the city itself. This usually takes place by initially restructuring common visions or collectives (PANAYIOTOU, 2016). Those “injection” approaches are actualized either through incentive policies and financial motives or through formal or informal social event-ing.

In order for the collectives to from and claim space within a given area, it is maybe important to safeguard it from outer flows, sometimes public flows, due to the realities ruling or characterising the area of study. Such realities may be based upon social, cultural, religious, or economic partition factors (PANAYIOTOU, 2016). These in a sense, control the degree of urban porosity, in order to protect the fragile inner system of an area. At the same time, they allow the collectives to be cultivated bottom-up or as inner-out conditions, changing the existing limitations. In addition, urban porosity is variable in relation to space, urban planning or the formation of collectives. Thereby, urban porosity is a circumstance brought to any project – whether it is understood or not –, what differs it is the degree of it used within a given area (PANAYIOTOU, 2016).

As technology advances, young peoples’ space perception and interpretation has radically changed. The planar perception is now more recognizable than ever, through electronic navigation and its correlation to the actual physical space that it describes. In a city such as Beirut and especially amongst its merchandised elite, overdesign becomes an important element of space identity and its meaning to social status. The design itself is an element that might be able to encourage “higher status” groups to interact with “lower status” groups.

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Having all those in mind, it seems appropriate not all to bring the change but also maintain it. For this reason, the creation of a board committee deciding on the future of the site and acting as the mediator among all the social groups, actors or agents seems inevitable.

This board shall include representatives of the lobby groups, the NGOs, the artists and athletes that claimed the area, the real estate agents, a state representative and ad hoc resident’s representatives. This might seem difficult, but if a group of some of the mentioned above representatives proclaim themselves as the actual representative of the actions and events on the area, two options are left, either to create a legal one (and go through an activist fight that would include the excluded ones) or accepting it, joining it and legalizing it. As stated, de facto strategies can bring the change, even if that board is called “illegal”, and its actions are not, then the destruction of it on legal ground is impossible. This board would be considered as one of the malleable ecology strategies.

Many years before the creation of that Board though some radical increment strategies will make the appearance evident. Proclaiming the desire for the whole area to be upgraded, taking advantage of the current political situation, the limitation of the real estate within the limits of Beirut Governorate seems possible, while an intention of increasing the land value could soothe the reactions. By announcing incentives or poten/*tials in the area for private and state investors to take action and combined with the public open space intention the result could overpass any imagination. It needs although, a non-corrupted and suspicious agent to overlook the process. The above board seems appropriate, as the beneficiaries are of different circles, and they aim on different levels. That is called here “everyone’s land”.

Fig.J: Abstract Sketch for understanding the networks of the new Trading Area as a fractal of the Chosen Area’s armutures and blue-green infrastructures

Fig.K: Quick understanding of the chosen area and the placement of basic new overlaying uses. © 2019, Authors’ sketchbook.

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Trojan horse strategies will be behind those incentives. Another policy shall be on the top of the beneficiary’s hierarchy. That of “saving” the leftover area and its great resource potential from aggressive real estate development or extremely corrupted politics.

Protecting and revitalizing the natural ecosystems (and therefore increasing both land value and social or ecological value of the area), protecting buildings as cultural or industrial heritage and historical landmarks (and therefore increasing the cultural and historical value of the area, a thing that some good tourism is based upon), the offering of new civilization trends and sport events can rise the appreciation of the city both towards local youth and external agents.

Last and maybe one of the most important things within this study is the creation of a common vision or the understanding of possible future outcomes on their cities (all realistic, utopian and dystopian) can lead people into taking action and expressing their true desires. Letting the people speak up what they want, showing them a series of possible future outcomes belongs to the mighty unfoldings strategic spectrum and at the same time expresses and prepares the public for the change. This could have a great effect on people understanding their needs, understand that they could participate on their surrounding environment and embrace the future outcome much easier, by letting them know what the benefits and disadvantages might be.

Fig.71: Perspective Illustration of a possible stream proposal during the dry season (May - October)

© 2018, UTH, I. Carydi, V. Chionidou, N. Silkina, A. Panayiotou

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In time this synergetic model will bring change. The change is expected not in the short-term future, rather than after 3 generations, a period when is expected a mentality change.

This model will need to be reused after some years as the needs will change, and the methodology plan will have to include new parameters and thereby malleable ecologies strategies are implied. Such factors that will may affect any future proceedings is the land value increase due to the formation of an area considered healthier to live in, allowing the real estate to develop vertically and having the same profit as multiple ground buildings would. Moreover, the new mentality of the locals who can cultivate in public view and protected by community eyes their plantations, might affect any future plans.

Maintenance members will be the youth, the lobbyists, the skateboarders will protect their area, same will happen with graffiti artists preventing the vandalisms. This might sound optimistic, but one should not underestimate the power of underlying systems and at the same time the idea of chaotic attractors and the chaining cultivation among feelings, thoughts and behavior on the area linked to the new topography and _scape created.

Fig.72: Perspective Illustration of a possible stream proposal during the wet season (November - April)

Š 2018, UTH, I. Carydi, V. Chionidou, N. Silkina, A. Panayiotou

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Fig.73: Illustrated Axonometric of the Future when Attractors Applied

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Fig.74: Satellite Map Image Illustrating a Scenario of a Possible Future Urbanity for the Chosen Area

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Fig.75: Map Illustrating the Future Chain Series Showing Development and Attraction Chaining on the Area

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Sketchbook Notes

182

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DISCUSSION 4

In the process of thinking my next moves within the study period I should consider on what level the result would be. I was confident I did not want any specific spatial design outcome, rather a theoretical action on “how to”. The many scales could allow me express different things. A scale too big (meaning that of a far greater area) would mean I could not examine human ecologies, rather natural ecosystem relationships, trading relationships or any kind of great and extremely generic land use correlations. Any scale too small could be devastating for a more “holistic” understanding of the city, while too close and individual relationships could offer so much detail that could easily misdirect and abstract by specifying my study.

At the end, it seems that I did not enter the ‘master plan building’ scale, nor an “abstract” town planning or land use plan. This gave me a great understanding both as a theoretical treatment on cities, but at the same time allowed me to examine very unique local features of the city of Beirut. As a designer I am waiting to be disappointed by this ambitious designing process and planning in order to “twist” it from experimental into a pragmatic and realistic one.

This understanding as I like to think, let me to the idea of the fractal city, behind the morphological implications of the word “fractal” to a conceptual one, that of layering actions and events, within time and spatial scales, back and forth. This conception allowed me, to twist it from a geometrical fractal morphology rather a fractal understanding or reading of the city and its essence. This idea of the never-ending, scale in between mode of the cities can extend our considerations of the actual events through space and time.

Additionally, to that new conception for me, another experience helped me to develop and evolve on the city perception. As a kid and now as a young adult I had always been wondering about the situation in Cyprus. It always seemed the propaganda is the tool that any involved party is using. People are always outside the situation. Their needs and wills too. The mutual understanding is blocked by those propaganda tools. What is even more interesting though it is the fact that the Republic of Turkey seems to be using de facto changes in order to convince that the situation in Cyprus it is as it should be, whereas the Republic of Cyprus strives to prove that the situation is illegal.

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De facto change seems an extremely powerful tool, only if followed by true desire and will of the people it might affect. On the other site legality of a situation does not by no means describe the actual actions, events, use of a place or a space at a time. It only describes what it “should” be happening, but never what is actually going on. Many times that “should” is even against the democratic values and the will of the many, it is sufficient to cover the political, economic or other interests of “those in power” or the “merchandising elite”.

Once more seems the truth is lying in the in between. There is a great need of malleable human ecologies and ecosystems to sustain an urban future and protect it from any form of forced change against its genius loci. At the same time the natural ecologies are taking place, with or without human intervention, what we as human can do is to actually include them into our design and behavioral considerations.

Time is probably the most powerful tool for change, while at the same time seems to be more than just a tool. Time is only evident by its results. Therefore, change is what actually proves time. The concept of Lyapunov time as the time where the period of a specific process goes beyond predictability and enters its chaotic mode seems more appropriate for the above proposed design. Lyapunov time is not a defined trajectory rather a time that consists of “events,” completely unpredictable movements, which are arbitrary, accidental and irregular. This conception of time, turns the concept of time from the western concept of time into an immaterial space.

A space one can actually design on, or guide or “program”.

All in all, this project is a series of bottom-up practices institutionalized by the designer and a top down process of officializing what society proposed for itself.

This happens in order to dissolve any reclamation issues by the neoliberal economies and merchandised elites promoting their agendas and status quo.

The hypothesis hopes and expectations is that of the social structure after three generations significantly changing on the perception of old memories and the previous partition of the urbanity. The new exosystemic environment created will support local economy, the increase of both domestic of foreign tourism numbers and the area to become once more a natural habitat, and the epicenter of urban wildlife in the region.

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“The present changes the past.

Looking back, you do not find what you left behind.”

Kiran Desai

“As one long prepared, and graced with courage, as is right for you who proved worthy of this kind of city, go firmly to the window […] and say goodbye to her, to the Alexandria you are losing.”

Constantine P. Cavafy, “The God Abandons Antony” (The city throughout C.P. Cavafy’s work is a synonym to human’s past living and therefore to an individual’s present living)

5. CONCLUSION OUTCOMES AND TOPICS FOR FURTHER STUDY

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There are two major approaches towards architecture. One that talks about architecture as a social construction and therefore its fundamental role in social development and maturity and one that describes architecture as an art and that in its purity architecture is another form of sophisticated and complex art; a role that architecture loses in its effort on becoming a social mediator. During the study the role of architecture and therefore architectural urbanism is to become a social mediator without losing its artistic substance, an element considered as important on activating the merchandise elite of urban actors.

In that way one “can see architecture as existing in the center of a series of reciprocal relationships between freedom of the individual and that of the collective, with the role of the architect at its most fundamental level about trying to find the appropriate balance (HOPKINS, 2018).�

Amos Rapoport study (RAPOPORT, 1977) seems very appropriate to support all the above assumptions expressed along this study, designed strategies and proposed work.

His work, dating more than four decades ago is of a great importance today. Here not cited enough, his work affirmed many of the initial assumptions, supported though by a more recent bibliography. His work helped a way of thinking, though expressed along the texts here.

A neotectural city such as Beirut shall take into consideration multiple factors, far more complex and hidden, that other European or American cities are not in need for. In post conflict societies, conflict never ends, rather passes into generations to come as an integral part of the sociocultural and politic values.

In order to push forward an alternative participative model of forming public, collectives and memorialization and deterritorialize the city, the disengagement from the formal (as a result of anesthetizing the public space in an effort of dominating the collective) and engagement in the political are necessary (FADI, FOUAD, & LANA, 2012, p. 330). This can happen through detteritorializing the physical presence of the memory.

In the minds of people, invisible borders are present – hidden points of access, divided sectors, boundary crossing checkpoints. Any consideration about planning the formal space is including considerations about how the fluent form of cultural memory has already invisibly monumentalized (FADI, FOUAD, & LANA, 2012, p. 327). The public is participating in the formation of collective memory as a result of an underlying procedure passing through generations.

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The urban partition is inevitably merged with the political and ethnic identity of the actors. Ethnicity is the dominant determinant of political affiliation and inherited affiliation is the primary criterion for social affiliation (CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E., 2011, p. 207). This affiliation is moved in the next generation becoming inherited, and thus roots the problem in the very constitutional foundations.

Last but not least, being a foreign designer with an emotional stimulus, very similar to the situation, seems to be a great situation for understanding underlying and hidden stories, while keeping a more objective viewpoint. In that wat, someone can avoid the detached amazement of foreign experts or the institutional affiliation and political patronage (CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E., 2011, p. 171).

As the social integration in Lebanon is proven to be extremely fragile, even after all those years, there is not a possibility for the public space to remain neutral to conflict and emptied of political meaning in a neoliberal socio-spatial context that promotes formal aesthetics while society strives to transcend the postwar situation, especially when not much has been done regarding upgrading existing public places or creating new ones (FADI, FOUAD, & LANA, 2012, pp. 314-315, 329).

This project is delivering a series of urban strategies and participatory attractors tool kit for changing both the physical and mental landscapes of the area and therefore the city of Beirut. Those strategies and attractors are the necessary action creators, in order to bring the current situation of the urban and social chaotic system in a situation of attraction and entropy. In this state of entropy more collisions between social, financial and natural factors are taking place and therefore change is more possible to happen, providing with results of cultural metissage, financial incentives and physical change.

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This “choreography” of a series of small or great interventions, seems to lead urban actors to the next step, while act as an eye opener by providing examples of urban space, citizens of a city should ask for. This “dance” seems to become a step bringing each actor or agent into a new topography, that will affect the next step from that exact topographical and time point.

Such a postwar spatial design is not far from being influenced by a sociopolitical discourse favoring a symbolically common yet seemingly neutral space among the social groups (FADI, FOUAD, & LANA, 2012, p. 320).

All in all, effective and equitable professional responses to urban division are rare (CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E., 2011, p. 167).

It is important to take in consideration the specific economic pressures and social weaknesses that divide the cities.

For a designer it is very important to retain a potential to shape policies and protocols, in order to assist the operation on the negative effects brought by urban partition. Unfortunately, engaging with a post conflict situation is inevitably perceived as being partisan, while passivity (or so called neutrality) lavishes the opportunities to assist the traumatized societies and cities.

Partitioning along ethnic lines is not assumed to be the worst possible outcome for divided cities of spoiled ethnic relations (CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E., 2011, p. 144).

Now this model proposed need to be put in practice as an experimental pilot project that will be recorded through time in order to extract more scientifically accurate conclusions. At the same time, this recording shall keep in mind any other events that might affect the proposed area system or network, as the system itself is highly sensitive to outer factors.

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BASE / Perreux River Banks, Paris, France

LA River Revitalization, Los Angeles, USA

Taylor Cullity Lethlean / Adelaide Botanical Gardens, Adelaide, Australia

Remediation of Blue Networks Blue Networks Green Networks Social Program

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De Punt + Arbedpark Noord, Ghent, Belgium

La Rambla, Barcelona, Spain

b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos / Mercat Encants, Barcelona, Spain

MRIO arquitectos & WEST8/ Madrid Rio, Madrid, Spain

Atelier le balto / Strandparken, Göteborg, Sweden

RCR / Parc de l'Arbreda, Girona, Spain

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Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates / The 606 Trail, Chicago, Illinois, USA

EMBT / Parc Diagonal Mar, Barcelona, Spain

Hargreaves Associates & Citymakers, Diller Scofidio + Renfro/ Zaryadye Park, Moscow, Russia

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Assemble / The Cineroleum, London, UK

Estonoesunsolar, Zaragoza, Spain

MOMA / P.S.1 Urban Beach, Tom Wiscombe Design, New York, New York, USA

Turenscape & MAP Architects / Kaban Lake, Kazan, Russia

ASTOC & GROSS.MAX / Tempelhof Projekt GmbH, Berlin, Germany

Reedy Creek Stream Restoration project, City of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

, US

Pages 194-197: Fig.76: Circles with selective references for the multiple used strategies to be understood.

Pages 198-199: Fig.77: Axonometric Illustration of Regional Development and its correlation to other Applied Projects around the Globe as a map of future scenarios of the area.

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Estonoesunsolar, Zaragoza, Spain Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates / The 606 Trail, Chicago, Illinois, USA ASTOC & GROSS.MAX / Tempelhof Projekt GmbH, Berlin, Germany

Taylor Cullity Lethlean / Adelaide Botanical Gardens, Adelaide, Australia

Assemble / The Cineroleum, London, UK

b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos / Mercat Encants, Barcelona, Spain BASE / Perreux River Banks, Paris, France

De Punt + Arbedpark Noord, Gent, Belgium

wetland upland deciduous forest / park overflow vernal pools

Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Citym Zaryadye Park, Moscow, Russia deep roots tree “fence” gabion wall backwater stream lowland deciduous forest / park

evergreen broadleaf park

Reedy Creek Stream Restoration project, City of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Turenscape & MAP Architects / Kaban Lake, Kazan, Russia

RCR / Parc de l'Arbreda, Girona, Spain

MRIO arquitectos & WEST8/ Madrid Rio, Madrid, Spain

LA River Revitalization, Los Angeles, USA MOMA / P.S.1 Urban Beach, Tom Wiscombe Design, New York, USA

Atelier le balto / Strandparken, Göteborg, Sweden

makers & Hargreaves Associates/ a

EMBT / Parc Diagonal Mar, Barcelona, Spain

La Rambla, Barcelona, Spain

park areas wetland stream overflow park / vernal pools soft engineering stream banks hard engineering stream banks

rambla model

neighborhood park

“[…] “This will kill that. The book will kill the edifice.” […] It was a presentiment that human thought, in changing its form, was about to change its mode of expression; that the dominant idea of each generation would no longer be written with the same matter, and in the same manner; that the book of stone, so solid and so durable, was about to make way for the book of paper, more solid and still more durable. In this connection the archdeacon’s vague formula had a second sense. It meant, “Printing will kill architecture.”

In fact, from the origin of things down to the fifteenth century of the Christian era, inclusive, architecture is the great book of humanity, the principal expression of man in his different stages of development, either as a force or as an intelligence.

When the memory of the first races felt itself overloaded, when the mass of reminiscences of the human race became so heavy and so confused that speech naked and flying, ran the risk of losing them on the way, men transcribed them on the soil in a manner which was at once the most visible, most durable, and most natural. They sealed each tradition beneath a monument.

The first monuments were simple masses of rock, “which the iron had not touched,” as Moses says. Architecture began like all writing. […]”

Victor M. Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Chapter II, THIS WILL KILL THAT.

6. REFERENCE PHOTOS AND FIGURES

Photo. 1: The characteristic covered balconies.

Photo. 2: A communal Christmas tree.

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Photo. 3: Religious Sculptures outside the apartment doors.

Photo. 5: Urban Development Throughout the Years, Heritage Landmarks. Light purple: 1900s-1940, Dark Blue: 1941-1980 and Blue: 1990-Today.

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Photo. 4: Saint Charbel Sculpture at the entrance of an apartment block.

Photo. 6: Poor Neighborhood in Burn el Chebbak, Beirut, Lebanon.

Photo. 7: The city center of Beirut.

Photo. 8: Informal Sunday Market under the Highway.

Photo.9: Wheels and Tires Shop on the Round About (South of the Chosen Site).

Photo. 10: A man using the high speed highway as a private restroom.

Photo. 11: Informal Usage of Highway Bridge Ground Floor as a Parking for Profiting.

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Photo. 12: An Improvised Playground in Furn El Chebbak.

Photo. 13: The “Backyard” Ground Behind Housing Blocks in Furn El Chebbak hosts Low Income Housing Dwells and Cultivation.

Photo. Figure. 14: Urban Grid seems to describe specific urban zoning development throughout Beirut’s history. Those new understandings of the city seem to create a new topo_scape, a combination of the terrain and events taking place on it.

Photo. 15: New Residences next to Traditional ones.

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Photo. 16: Slums.

Photo. Figure. 17: Theoretic Scheme on understanding social gatherings and human behaviour.

Photo. Figure. 18: Quick “reading� of the chosen Area. Advantages on blue, Disadvantages on red.

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Photos. 19-20: Spatial Memory Map Projected on the Model.

Photo. 21: Surfaces Map Projected on the Model.

Page 168 - Above Left: Photo. 22: Study for the new road networks by hand.

Page 168: Photo. Figures. 23-25: New road networks sketches.

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7. BIBLIOGRAPHY LECLAIR-PAQUET, B. J. (2013). Beirut Divided: The potential of urban design in reuniting a culturally divided city. DPU WORKING PAPER NO. 153.

ALEXANDER, C. (1977). A pattern language: towns, buildingd, construction. Oxford University Press.

ARISTOTLE. (1999). Politics. (B. JOWETT , Translation) Batoche Books, Kitchener.

ARISTOTLE. (n.d.). Politics. 4th century BC. BEIRUT, S. (2006). Beyroutes: A guide to Beirut. Stiching Archis.

CALAME, J. and CHARLESWORTH, E. (2011). Beirut. In Divided Cities: Belfast, Beirut, Jerusalem, Mostar and Nicosia (pp. 20-37). University of Pennsylvania Press.

Chair of Prof. CHRISTIAANSE, K., & ETH Zyrich. (2018). The City as Resource: Texts and Projects 2005-2014. (T. RIENIETS, N. KRETSCHMANN, M. PERRET, K. Chair of Prof.

CHRISTIAANSEN, & ETH Zyrich, Eds.) Berlin: JOVIS Verlag.

FADI, S., FOUAD, A., & LANA, S. (2012). Recognisignt the Invisible Monument. In D. NAIK, & T. OLDFIELD (Eds.), Critical Cities: Ideas, Knowledge and Agitation from Emerging Urbanists (3rd ed., pp. 314-331). Myrdle Court Press.

FERGUSON, F. (Ed.). (2004). Make_Shift City: Renegotiating the urban commons.

Berlin: Jovis.

FREM, S. (2009). Nahr Beirut: Projections on an Infrastructural Landscape. MIT .

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“That corpse you planted last year in your garden, “Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?

“Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?

“Oh keep the Dog far hence, that’s friend to men, “Or with his nails he’ll dig it up again!

“You! hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable—mon frère!”

Thomas S. Eliot from “The Waste Land”

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“Between the desire And the spasm Between the potency And the existence Between the essence And the descent Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom” Thomas S. Eliot from “The Hollow Men”

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Architectural Urbanism implies a new understanding of the spatial relationships between the given three dimensional space and its correlations to events, human behaviour and social perception. The idea of chaining or understanding the space through a series of events rather than a series of spaces is the main focus of this study, aiming to change the perception of space to the post war Beirut. This happens on three levels, those of economy, ecology and social living.