Beirut City Center Recovery

The Foch-Allenby and Etoile area epitomizes the development of Beirut’s civic, business and cultural identity as a national capital and as a port city. Evolving from the heart of the old city in the mid-nineteenth century to the showcase of the French Mandate in the Levant, the area became the symbol of the city’s reconstruction following the 1975–1990 Lebanon war. Proceeding according to a pre-approved but flexible master plan, the recovery of Beirut city center is a major postwar reconstruction and urban regeneration project. It is spearheaded by Solidere, a private real estate company established by special legislation in 1994 and capitalized with property right holders’ contributions in kind and new investors’ cash contributions.

A measure of its success is the conservation area of Foch-Allenby and Etoile, now a major popular site in Beirut. International experience in urban and architectural conservation was adapted to local materials and know-how. Modernizing infrastructure and upgrading the public space were reconciled with preserving cultural identity through the reuse of conserved structures and the adoption of specific stone masonry repair techniques. Archival, survey, planning and design material generated during the recovery of Beirut city center and its conservation area, reveal how urban design policies formulated in the 1920s and 1930s, the transition period between tradition and early modernity, were finally brought to their full potential.
An architectural survey included at the end of the book provides complete coverage of building elevations and plans in the Foch-Allenby and Etoile conservation area.