For those in the know, is there a link with the Harvard school?
Hashim Sarkis runs a studio there on the same brief...and Machado , on the competition jury panel, happens to be Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design @ the GSD.
Adding that to..Sarkis had previously been on on a jury panel that had selected Machado&Silvetti for a new addition to the American University of Beirut campus.
I smell something distateful... especially that the Sarkis studio has been preparing for the competition since the spring term....and yet brief&info will be sent out to other participants by the end of this month.
i was going to go for this one...was told some time ago by my jordanian friend and was waiting for the brief to come out. she had told me because it was going to be a UIA comp, it would be on the up and up so if you get better info, i would write off the advisors. getting the brief ahead of time is a violation of UIA guidelines and should throw Machado off the jury if he was the source of distributing the brief. she had told me there had been a lot of press there about this to be at the highest level of fairness because of the corupt reputation middle east comps have recieved in the past. its a bit unfortunate, if true.
i am surprised at the $250 registration fee...yikes!! most archs practicing in local middle east firms make shit and it is too steep for locals to enter. it is an idea comp first then maybe...'Subject to the decision of the competition promoter, the first prize recipient may be eligible for subsequent collaboration to further develop a Detailed Sector Plan for the project area'. i have to talk to my friend a bit further about whats the intent here and to learn a bit more about SOLIDERE.
The 'Projecting Beirut' book has a few decent essays from different viewpoints. There competition website has a few more books listed in the bibilgraphy.
I personally am not sure if I can make enough time to jump into a competition (about to graduate...CVs&Portfolio..etc), but it does seem like an exciting project...
i came across a link on archinect link 'mit lecture archive' for a video lecture Hashim Sarkis gave at MIT 1 april 2002 called beirut beirut the lecture is 1:15 hours and talks about martyr square. also some links on the page for a book he wrote.
it might be a good starting point if you are considering doing this comp.
it is often the case that competitions ask schools to do a pre-competition analysis or investigation before announcing a formal international competition. this helps to bring out the broad aspects and see the extent to which a competition might be limited. the same process was used in australia for the queensland gallery of modern art, where students from the university of queensland did a draft version of the international competition about 6 months before the official competition.
the beirut competition was delayed in its formal announcement as they waited to be sanctioned by the UIA.
the above notes about Solidere are correct, and they reflect the situation in Lebanon, where the central government has very little financial ability to fund the reconstruction of the city. now that they have formed a basis for the BCD, it is hoped that they will open up their architectural ambitions. they have recently commissioned S. Holl to do a project at the new marina, and have commissioned B. Khoury to redevelop the old cinema building into an interesting proposition.
the competition is an opportunity to give some new directions to what will be an on-going project for the next 10 - 15 years. hopefully provocative and radical projects will be submitted to push the expectations and possibilities.
listen to the lecture to get a real understanding of Hashim Sarkis. he practices in beirut and the continuous building / destruction that has gone on is part of the cities history. the labs he runs at the gsd are a natural response to someone who feels he can contribute to that discourse.
un edited r u lebanese????
as for solidere.. i never trust them... bernard khoury won the competition for the marina facing the phoenicia hotel.. they gave the project to steven holl... a disgusting project....
so why should we believe this will be better>>??
first bernard khoury did not win the competition for me it was the best project but steven holl is the one who won it.
i am participating personally in this competition with a team that have been formed by time .
this competition and bad luck for those who did not participate is currently the most intresting competition in the world and the aim of solidere in this competition to have the best idea to reintervent on the martyrs square of beirut because it is the heart of beirut and lebanese people wont compromise with it specially that they have been waiting for this project for 14 years .
then Mr. ted i assure u local architects that work in the middle east dont make shit they make architecture even if u meant money you would be surprised of the money you can make when working in the middle east .
so bad luck for those who did not participate and good luck for those who participated because it is gonna be a very hard competition.
WELL.. ENOUGH SHIT ABOUT HOW INTERESTING THIS COMPETITION WAS.. THE RESULTS ARE IN:
GREEK GROUP (NEVER HEARD OF) GOT 1ST PLACE.
NABIL GHOLAM (2ND PLACE)
HACHIM SARKIS (3RD PLACE)
THE PROJECTS WILL BE VIEWED ON THE 18TH OF MAY BY THE PUBLIC..
NOTE THAT I THINK ALTHOUGH THE COMPETITION WAS VERY INTERESTING.. THE RESULTS ARE DRAMATICAL... STILL HAVENT SEEN IT BUT THROUGH THE PAPERS AND MEDIA, SINCE ITS NOT EXHIBITED.. BUT WHAT I DID C, DOES NOT SHOW GOOD NEWS.. LOL...
UNEDITED could not possibly be lebanese - if he were, he would know that the FORMER Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, was killed in Beirut months ago - he had stepped down as prime minister before being killed by an enormous car bomb explosion in front of Hotel St. George
As for mr. chewich... let me tell u how wrong ur informations R..
Bernard Khoury, did win the competition and i refer to his conference at Lebanese University regarding Beirut and the architecture of after war... That is if u do go to conferences.. looooooool
anyways.. after having the competition, Solidere decided to go and hire a firm (steven holl) to do the project.. so steven holl's firm was not even in the competition from the beginning.. HOW COME HE WON?
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
PLSSSSSSSSSSSSS PEOPLEEEEEEEEEEEEE INFORMMMMM DONT JUST TALK.. BLAH B LAH BLAH BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Beirut Martyr Square Competition
For those in the know, is there a link with the Harvard school?
Hashim Sarkis runs a studio there on the same brief...and Machado , on the competition jury panel, happens to be Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design @ the GSD.
Adding that to..Sarkis had previously been on on a jury panel that had selected Machado&Silvetti for a new addition to the American University of Beirut campus.
I smell something distateful... especially that the Sarkis studio has been preparing for the competition since the spring term....and yet brief&info will be sent out to other participants by the end of this month.
Is there anyone who has or will register for the competition?
http://www.beirutmartyrssquare.com/index.aspx
and on the side...do you enjoy solo-entry competitions, two..or more?
erm...I smell something distateful ...well...you smell, u suspect...so
I smell something possibly distateful
i was going to go for this one...was told some time ago by my jordanian friend and was waiting for the brief to come out. she had told me because it was going to be a UIA comp, it would be on the up and up so if you get better info, i would write off the advisors. getting the brief ahead of time is a violation of UIA guidelines and should throw Machado off the jury if he was the source of distributing the brief. she had told me there had been a lot of press there about this to be at the highest level of fairness because of the corupt reputation middle east comps have recieved in the past. its a bit unfortunate, if true.
i am surprised at the $250 registration fee...yikes!! most archs practicing in local middle east firms make shit and it is too steep for locals to enter. it is an idea comp first then maybe...'Subject to the decision of the competition promoter, the first prize recipient may be eligible for subsequent collaboration to further develop a Detailed Sector Plan for the project area'. i have to talk to my friend a bit further about whats the intent here and to learn a bit more about SOLIDERE.
hey TED check your email!
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=3&article_id=5547
The 'Projecting Beirut' book has a few decent essays from different viewpoints. There competition website has a few more books listed in the bibilgraphy.
I personally am not sure if I can make enough time to jump into a competition (about to graduate...CVs&Portfolio..etc), but it does seem like an exciting project...
Regarding Solidere...it is, bluntly speaking, the sole driving force behind the reconstruction of the Beirut Central District. It is more or less 'owned' by the Lebanese Prime Minster...and is therefor of a highly politized and controversial profile. His plans (and vis a vis Solidere) have faced criticism for fronting for many rich arabs (read:saudis) in much of his ventures and land purchaces through Solidere and others, cut throat favouratism and corruption. Solidere's plans for the Beirut Central District (BCD) have also faced criticism in firstly carering for the rich few (the argument is: attract foreign investment..the counterattack is:first cater to the needs and well being of the local. i.e an inclusive socioeconomic infrastructure ...the counter-cunter argument is: that is not possible without attracting money...etc etc) ...and secondly in the whole architectural and urban setup of the BCD/the image of Beirut: Fakery of past..a pastiche of meditteranean/orientalist clichés...an oblivious unreflexive attitude towards the relatively recent civil war....
The competition is interesting becasue it shows a willingliness to perforate Solidere's closed-door policy.
i came across a link on archinect link 'mit lecture archive' for a video lecture Hashim Sarkis gave at MIT 1 april 2002 called beirut beirut the lecture is 1:15 hours and talks about martyr square. also some links on the page for a book he wrote.
it might be a good starting point if you are considering doing this comp.
despite the paranoia, the competition is legit.
it is often the case that competitions ask schools to do a pre-competition analysis or investigation before announcing a formal international competition. this helps to bring out the broad aspects and see the extent to which a competition might be limited. the same process was used in australia for the queensland gallery of modern art, where students from the university of queensland did a draft version of the international competition about 6 months before the official competition.
the beirut competition was delayed in its formal announcement as they waited to be sanctioned by the UIA.
the above notes about Solidere are correct, and they reflect the situation in Lebanon, where the central government has very little financial ability to fund the reconstruction of the city. now that they have formed a basis for the BCD, it is hoped that they will open up their architectural ambitions. they have recently commissioned S. Holl to do a project at the new marina, and have commissioned B. Khoury to redevelop the old cinema building into an interesting proposition.
the competition is an opportunity to give some new directions to what will be an on-going project for the next 10 - 15 years. hopefully provocative and radical projects will be submitted to push the expectations and possibilities.
listen to the lecture to get a real understanding of Hashim Sarkis. he practices in beirut and the continuous building / destruction that has gone on is part of the cities history. the labs he runs at the gsd are a natural response to someone who feels he can contribute to that discourse.
un edited r u lebanese????
as for solidere.. i never trust them... bernard khoury won the competition for the marina facing the phoenicia hotel.. they gave the project to steven holl... a disgusting project....
so why should we believe this will be better>>??
first bernard khoury did not win the competition for me it was the best project but steven holl is the one who won it.
i am participating personally in this competition with a team that have been formed by time .
this competition and bad luck for those who did not participate is currently the most intresting competition in the world and the aim of solidere in this competition to have the best idea to reintervent on the martyrs square of beirut because it is the heart of beirut and lebanese people wont compromise with it specially that they have been waiting for this project for 14 years .
then Mr. ted i assure u local architects that work in the middle east dont make shit they make architecture even if u meant money you would be surprised of the money you can make when working in the middle east .
so bad luck for those who did not participate and good luck for those who participated because it is gonna be a very hard competition.
WELL.. ENOUGH SHIT ABOUT HOW INTERESTING THIS COMPETITION WAS.. THE RESULTS ARE IN:
GREEK GROUP (NEVER HEARD OF) GOT 1ST PLACE.
NABIL GHOLAM (2ND PLACE)
HACHIM SARKIS (3RD PLACE)
THE PROJECTS WILL BE VIEWED ON THE 18TH OF MAY BY THE PUBLIC..
NOTE THAT I THINK ALTHOUGH THE COMPETITION WAS VERY INTERESTING.. THE RESULTS ARE DRAMATICAL... STILL HAVENT SEEN IT BUT THROUGH THE PAPERS AND MEDIA, SINCE ITS NOT EXHIBITED.. BUT WHAT I DID C, DOES NOT SHOW GOOD NEWS.. LOL...
UNEDITED could not possibly be lebanese - if he were, he would know that the FORMER Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, was killed in Beirut months ago - he had stepped down as prime minister before being killed by an enormous car bomb explosion in front of Hotel St. George
the student prizes might turn out to be more impressive than the professional entries.
oh my, the above comments were written in 2004?! sorry unedited - nevermind...
As for mr. chewich... let me tell u how wrong ur informations R..
Bernard Khoury, did win the competition and i refer to his conference at Lebanese University regarding Beirut and the architecture of after war... That is if u do go to conferences.. looooooool
anyways.. after having the competition, Solidere decided to go and hire a firm (steven holl) to do the project.. so steven holl's firm was not even in the competition from the beginning.. HOW COME HE WON?
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
PLSSSSSSSSSSSSS PEOPLEEEEEEEEEEEEE INFORMMMMM DONT JUST TALK.. BLAH B LAH BLAH BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
gringo - you are a white punk, eh?
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