Campaign to save Lebanese landmark
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Close to the seafront in Lebanon鈥檚 Tripoli, giant curves of concrete stand testimony to dreams before the civil war, etchings of an exhibition park never finished but already cracking.
This month, a rare exhibition is being held at the site designed by legendary Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in a desperate call to save it from ruin.
Inside the vast grey grounds of the Tripoli International Fair in northern Lebanon, a palm tree throws its dark silhouette onto a giant concrete dome. A thin arch sweeps high over a narrow footbridge, and a steep staircase spirals up onto a circular cement platform perched on a curvaceous pillar.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a futurist paradigm that is unique in Lebanon and the region,鈥 said Lebanese architect Wassim Naghi. 鈥淚n its modernity, in its reliance on curves, it sums up the progress of architecture over a hundred years.鈥
And with buildings dotted over an area the size of 70 rugby pitches, it鈥檚 among 鈥淣iemeyer鈥檚 largest works outside Brazil,鈥 he said.
The Brazilian architect designed landmarks around the globe during a decades-long career that started in the 1930s and ended in the 21st century.
When he died six years ago, aged 104, he left behind hundreds of buildings, in Brazil as well as in the United States, France, Malaysia, Algeria and Cuba.
But today his work in Lebanon is in urgent need of restoration.
鈥淭hese buildings of reinforced concrete need to be restored rapidly. There are buildings being eaten away at, blocks falling down, and many cracks,鈥 Naghi warned.
鈥淲e fear there will be unpleasant surprises, especially during the rainy season.鈥
Until yesterday, a show titled 鈥淐ycles of Collapsing Progress鈥 sought to celebrate the era that gave rise to the fairground, but also sound the alarm.
In the halls under the perched platform, visitors can admire a seabed of snaking rebar, or an elongated white space rocket hanging from the ceiling.
The show 鈥渄ocuments a golden age in Lebanon鈥檚 modern history 鈥 the architectural, scientific and cultural dreams of the time,鈥 said curator Karina al-Helu.
During the 1960s, the tiny Mediterranean country had its own space program, successfully launching a small unmanned rocket into space.
When Niemeyer was first asked to design the outdoor space in 1962, there were plans for the rooms under the circular platform to house a space museum. But dreams of outer-space exploration were put on hold with the outbreak of the 1975-90 civil war.
UNESCO list
The exhibition aims to remind Lebanese visitors of this chapter of the country鈥檚 recent past, Helu said, but also shine a light on a landmark about to collapse.
In a country whose history goes back millennia to the Phoenician period, she urged the authorities to give equal attention to modern architecture.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to restore buildings that show Lebanon鈥檚 ancient history, but we should also care about the landmarks of the country鈥檚 history,鈥 she said.
Architect Naghi said he was not optimistic about any immediate intervention by the government.
鈥淭he current atmosphere of crisis in the country doesn鈥檛 bode well,鈥 he said, referring to a monthlong deadlock over forming a Cabinet.
Any renovation should involve in-depth studies and specialised companies, he said, 鈥渁nd that would require a lot of money, as well as a government decision.鈥
Instead, Naghi and others hope that the site can be added to UNESCO鈥檚 World Heritage List.
Brazil鈥檚 capital Brasilia and an outdoor center in the south of the country, both designed by Niemeyer, are already featured on it.
Sahar Baassiri, Lebanon鈥檚 delegate to UNESCO, said efforts were now being made toward adding the concrete park to the list鈥檚 contemporary architecture section.
Akram Oueida, president of the fairground, said Lebanese officials have made promises of assistance, but none have yet materialized. Getting the concrete park listed by UNESCO may help, Oueida said: 鈥淭hat could open the door to funding from donors.鈥
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