Architecture of conflicting Memories: Tyr, Beirut, Batroun, Tripoli and Baalbeck.
The image of our Lebanese cities manifests itself through the evolution and uncontrollably fast construction of the urban context, when its real architecture is to be discovered in the hidden parts that represent the city’s historical and social evolution.In the degraded areas, architectural and urban conditions are strongly demonstrated in the resurgence of public and private spaces. Our research focuses on the dialogue which arises between these spaces and how it impacts the residents and their relationship to this communal living. It is important to understand the alterations that took place over time in order to grasp the prominence of these “private” and “collective” spaces for this specific community. On the wide spectrum of urban vocabulary which came as a result of the constant movement of the residents in the area, several key words were highlighted in order to understand the limits and connections between “urban places” and “architectural spaces”. Consequently, the study of these “limits” sheds light on the correlation and variation between the political space of the city and the private space of the citizen.Whereas the former comprises the infrastructure of the area, the services provided, and the clarity of the master plan, the latter deals with the unsystematic and chaotic movements and alterations that tied together the haphazard architectural aspects of the neighborhood. The public space gave way to the development of the term “urban values” which in turn becomes a catalyst for collective action in the community. Accordingly, the inhabitants of the area find these collective spaces as a valid act of the community and are configured with the sprawl of the private space into the public. For that reason, the main reference for the research and project development depends on the repertoire of urban elements which in turn depends on the constant movement and alterations and the dialogue which rises between people, spaces, and things.