The project team tackling the issues of urban space, noise pollution and public transport focuses on the ever increasing traffic issues of Beirut. Gemmayz\u00e9, one of the most vibrant areas in the city, was chosen as the candidate for an urban intervention. Gemmayz\u00e9 is an old residential quarter full of heritage buildings with a strong sense of community within the neighbourhood. During the past ten years, an ever growing nightlife was established; attracting thousands of people and tons of cars into its the narrow streets. Today, Gemmayz\u00e9 is congested and no public transport company dares to enter its streets. This is a challenging setup for any urban proposal. While noticing that the current traffic interventions in Lebanon follow mainly European approaches, the team set out to find a solution that takes into consideration the Lebanese mentality. <\/p>\n
The project is built on the idea of a mixed-use street. There is no right or wrong, but an idea of common sense and the respect of pedestrians. In Beirut sidewalks are merely utility space, obstructed by parked cars, electric poles and concrete blocks that eventually force people to walk on the streets. Instead of introducing bigger sidewalks, the project makes use of this observation by encouraging people to walk on the streets and mix with the cars. By installing pedestrian traffic, the current car flow will turn to a steady, low speed, pace that will reduce the noise level significantly. The unique situation in Gemmayz\u00e9 (in terms of its streets layout) allows to divert car traffic to the parallel roads. For all people who want to visit Gemmayz\u00e9, there will be parking structures surrounding the area. Once the cars are parked, visitors can step onto the to-be-introduced microbus system to reach their destination; if walking wasn’t their option. Besides serving as a shuttle service from the parking, the microbus connects Gemmayz\u00e9 to the public transportation hubs, already existing on its peripheries. Introducing street caf\u00e9s, as well as markets, and opening the street for cultural events, will give back the traditional character to this rough gem of the city. Following this approach, the aim is to generate the first quiet urban space for the people of Beirut.<\/p>\n
“DESMEEM: Rethinking Design through Cross-Cultural Collaboration” is an international multidisciplinary social design project that has been developed in Beirut for the past few months with European and Lebanese designers and architects. As a research-led initiative, all the projects revolve around themes that are of high social or environmental significance to Lebanon. These include urban space, energy\/electricity, sustainable consumerism, creative education, disability, migrant workers integration, personal finance, and gender\/LGBT rights. This project is one of the eight that was created by this process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The project team tackling the issues of urban space, noise pollution and public transport focuses on the ever increasing traffic issues of Beirut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":545601,"template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-16143","directory","type-directory","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibitions"],"yoast_head":"\n