DEEP IMPACT

On August 4th 2020 at 15:08:18 (UTC), seismic meters installed across the Middle East and southeastern Europe recorded ground vibrations equivalent to what is provoked by a magnitude 3.5 earthquake. The seismic waves were actually triggered by the detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stocked unsafely in the port of Beirut, unleashing what is one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions of all time.

**© MIKHAIL ALAEDDIN / SPUTNIK VIA AFP**

APOCALYPSE NOW

In a split second, the gigantic blast left the surrounding area in ruins, caused damages to buildings in a radius of 50 km and was felt up to 250 kilometers away from its center. Dramatically, the explosion killed more than 200 people, wounded around 6500 others, left 300,000 residents homeless and an entire population traumatized.

**© LORENZO TUGNOLI / THE WASHINGTON POST**

REQUIEM FOR A DREAM

The destruction of the Lebanese capital was not limited to physical and material losses. The explosion shook the city’s ideology, threatening the myth of the polyglot and cosmopolitan global metropolis. Today, Beirut’s spirit is in danger. It is not only its urban and architectural heritage that is at risk but also its distinctive identity, its intangible cultural heritage and the people’s collective memory.

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

In the wake of this tragic event, urgent refurbishment works have been undertaken to bring back life to what was one of the most vibrant and pulsating districts of the capital. A certainly long and hopefully well-structured reconstruction phase will follow. In this context, it would be another mistake not to address Beirut’s previous lack of urban policies that led to its inherent dysfunctionalities. An integrated vision of the capital must now be created as part of a long awaited and necessary masterplan for the whole country.

SCARFACE

Today for a large part destroyed, the Beirut port will also need to be rebuilt with an improved new scheme and the objective to strengthen its regional leadership position. But what was since the Phoenician times proudly correlated with a national narrative is now associated with a national trauma. Bearing the indelible scar of this historic explosion, the port’s face has changed forever and is meant to recover more than ever its lost relationship to the city, to be reclaimed by the Lebanese people.

AWAKENINGS

Today, the blast scene within the port area is marked with profound stigmata and embodies one of the country’s darkest moments. It is definitely a key spot for any development which aims to reassign sections of the port into the public realm and repurpose them into civic and communal spaces open to all. For it to be of great symbolic significance, it is essential for any future scheme to emerge from the core of the disaster, to take shape at the epicenter of the cataclysm.

MEMENTO

Until the explosion, the country’s wheat silos were regarded merely as a massive industrial building, their imposing silhouette towering over the port skyline. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the structure’s ruins still standing tall in the middle of the chaos, have taken a new symbolic dimension and have become an intrinsic part of the people’s collective memory. Therefore, it is an absolute necessity for these remains to be permanently preserved and to become a state-designated national cultural heritage site.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

The physical reconstruction of Beirut and its port is of utmost social and economic urgency. To a certain extent, the city’s recovery participates in the healing process of the population that has faced a great collective trauma. Till now, people’s grief has been alleviated through fragmented individual and collective efforts such as solidarity and ground actions, remembrance and communal therapy. But today, given the magnitude of the event and what is at stake, it is crucial to have a bold and strong statement on behalf of the entire Lebanese people through a powerful and symbolic project that crystallizes the torment of the nation.

explore beirut memorial park

NEWS

PERSPECTIVES ON BEIRUT BLAST