Beirut Downtown — Architecture of Reconstruction
179.01 €
The Beirut Central District — the rebuilt post-civil-war downtown of limestone-clad new buildings adjacent to preserved bullet-scarred facades, the contrast of reconstruction and retained historical trauma visible in adjacent streetscapes.
Description
Beirut’s postwar downtown reconstruction — managed by the Solidere company from the 1990s — produced a contested architectural landscape where new limestone-clad commercial buildings were constructed alongside preserved Ottoman-era and Mandate-period facades, some retained with bullet damage and artillery scarring as intentional historical markers. The tension between reconstruction and preservation is most visible in the streets adjacent to the old city core, where the polished new facades and the retained damaged heritage coexist in adjacent plots. This image was made on Rue de Rome in the BCD, the frame composition including both a fully rebuilt commercial facade in the right foreground and a retained bullet-scarred Ottoman building in the left background — the new building’s clean limestone contrasting with the perforated concrete of its neighbour. Shot at f/8 on a 35mm prime at midday, the harsh direct sun creates harsh shadows that emphasise both the new building’s crisp geometry and the old building’s surface texture.
