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Int. Architecture
MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATIONS - Beirut, Lebanon, 2014
Architects: GM Architects Co.
Client: Solidere s.a.r.l.
Contractor: OCTE Liban s.a.r.l.
Project Description
Project Description
As a reflective experience deeply rooted in its city’s history, Lebanese studio GM architects has designed ‘Museum of Civilizations,’ sunk into the landscape of Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square. T The design excavates through various strata of earth, which contain traces from Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and French societies. the large hole is then infilled with two structures – a massive gridded scaffold and tall white tower – which are connected by a singular circulation path. a succession of voids break through the tressle-like block, and are occupied by platforms for exhibition use as well as general observation. below, a walkway passes over the site’s watery bottom to access a staircase wrapped by the high white wall.
The earth walls surrounding the sunken site express Lebanon’s rich and multicultural history. This dense legacy has produced what the designers describe as, ‘an amalgamation of arrangements and styles’ in the built environment. In turn, the structures, although visually and spatially non-referential, serve as an addition to the culturally complex mixture. Measuring 20 meters in depth and 60 meters in length, the gridded scaffold structure is approached at grade by a bridge. a sequence of platforms descend through the excavated site, containing exhibition spaces dedicated to each of the historical civilizations that once inhabited the city. the moments for pause to observe views through the porous building. below, a pool of water fills the hole’s bottom and represents the Mediterranean sea, which through all of history has served as the cradle for each of Lebanon’s societies.
