As we emerge from the devastation of the Beirut Port Blast and a harsh economic collapse, we re-embrace what came to a standstill on August 4, 2020. Back then, in its chaos, Karantina was starting to establish itself as an axis for modern art.  Many galleries established themselves in the area, contrasting with the underprivileged communities and the dreadful surroundings. Today, an increasingly diverse range of artistic practices and alternative arts venues have emerged in the outer areas of Beirut, combining new forms of collective enterprise and community outreach with a wide range of artistic and artisanal praxis.
The studio’s aim was to re-engage with these notions to focus the studio work on the design of an art exhibition space within an art residency in which young emerging artists may come together to produce and exhibit their artwork and re-activate this area into what was the flavor before the port explosion. The studio explored the potential of this highly marginalized part of the city by researching its history and current dynamics, to propose an art residency building and gallery space. 
Whether the project involved the existing community within the surroundings or not was at the discretion of each student and depended on the site research focusing on the social aspects.  Students will have the liberty to propose a program fused with an additional programmatic component that sets the tone within the project.  The design approach will lead towards an architecture that is mindfully integrated within the context.  The research was expected to produce technical and design considerations of structure, skin, natural lighting, ventilation and fire safety design generated in an architectural concept at different scales.