Byblos Municipality Headquarter

Location - Jbeil Byblos

Architect - Hashim Sarkis Studios

Accomplished in 2016

Private residence in Ghouma

Architect - BLANKPAGE ARCHITECTS

Site Works

Architect - BLANKPAGE ARCHITECTS

Contractor - MAK BUILDERS

They are hunted for their beliefs. They are persecuted for their national and social belonging. They are judged for their political views. They are displaced while fleeing war. Placed in sprawling camps with little to no access to vital services, refugees in Lebanon do not have the right to live as normal citizens. They have the fear of going back to their countries of origin.

Palestinians have the status of refugees in different countries around the world following the 1948 and 1967 wars.

In Lebanon they are scattered around the country in twelve camps where the Lebanese government has no legal power. Ghettoed and limited in space to one square kilometer per camp, a growing population has built vertically to accommodate to its need for space. Moreover, public space has become scarce and public activities have become insignificant in correlation.

Syrian refugee camps are relatively new. They emerged with the beginning of the Syrian war in 2011.

Syrian refugees, erect tents on empty plots of terrain, rented or squatted. They rarely use abandoned structures as shelters. As a result, their camps reflect the emergency to settle down. Therefore, public spaces in these camps are seen as not being vital and the quality of every day’s life is degraded in consequence.

With time dumped space around camps has been tamed to become useful in a way. Inhabitants transformed it to accommodate to their need for space. All sorts of activities are taking place spontaneously in improvised spaces around camps. They are used in a chaotic way in order to meet the needs of the refugees.

Refugee kids are no strangers to this, they are on the frontline of this quest for space. They are in a permanent search for playgrounds. Strolling around camps, their liveliness will bring life to unused spaces, transforming them temporarily into playgrounds, fulfilling their needs far from home. These are “Playscapes of Exile”.

Architect - PARALX

AUB Medical Center - Beirut

Architect - NBBJ

Accomplished in 2019

Private residences in Aamchit

Architect - Hashim Sarkis Studios

Accomplished in 2016

Resort in Tabarja

Architect - Khalil El Khoury