IHBC Yearbook 2022

28 Y E A R B O O K 2 0 2 2 PLANS FOR RECONSTRUCTION – SOLIDÈRE In spite of the countless problems that needed to be addressed afterwards, in the war-ravaged and socially divided country, the reconstruction of the BCD held the highest priority. As well as its significance nationally, the city had been the principal financial and commercial centre of the Middle East, and its prosperity affirmed the country’s success. Rebuilding the city centre was therefore seen as essential for political and economic renewal and stability. The 15-year civil war witnessed periodic ‘interruptions’ that were subsumed by further eruptions of conflict. These pauses or lulls were long enough to give people the impression that the fighting had ended and rebuilding could commence. There were both actors and plans of action in place waiting on the moment that the Green Line that divided the city could be bulldozed away. This was a line of green vegetation that had sprung up in the streets between Christian East and Muslim West Beirut, running through today’s Martyrs’ Square. The first lull came in 1977, two years into the war. A master plan to repair the damage to central Beirut was commissioned by the newly formed government body, the Council for Development and Reconstruction. This first master plan aimed to restore Beirut’s centre as a multi-confessional and multi-ethnic meeting place for all communities while improving the infrastructure and preserving Beirut’s historic Mediterranean and Eastern character. The second came in 1982 after UN peacekeepers arrived. In 1983, Oger Liban, an engineering company owned by Lebanese-born but Saudi-based billionaire Rafiq Hariri commissioned another master plan for the redevelopment of central Beirut from the international consultancy, Dar al-Handasah, a project he had been working on since the 1970s. It was these early involvements that ultimately led to the formation of a new body, Solidère, and the master plan which the post-war redevelopment of the BCD was based on. Solid è re, an acronym of Société Libanaise pour le Développement et la Reconstruction de Beyrouth , is an organization which was founded and closely controlled by Hariri and Oger Liban. Hariri subsequently became both prime minister and a principal architect for the BCD. Towards the end of 1983, clearing and cleaning started in central Beirut. Without any apparent government authority or constraint, a number of important buildings were demolished, including the Souk el-Nourieh and a large part of Saifi, a residential area to the east of Martyrs’ Square, openly disregarding the recommendations of the 1977 plan. The Antoun Bey Khan , a historic caravanserai and a landmark of the souks was also demolished to open up the view towards the sea. The next lull in fighting came in 1986, when more demolitions were carried out to a plan that recommended some 80 per cent of central Beirut be cleared. The war ended in 1990 following the signing of the Taif accord, or ‘Charter of National Reconciliation’ in October 1989. Oger Liban was appointed head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) that same year, allowing a private company to become head of the government body responsible for overseeing redevelopment and planning, effectively enabling it to legitimise its own plans (Makdisi 1997: 670). This position of privilege provided the platform that brought Solidère into existence and allowed it to recruit private investors, tempted by the profits that might be made from converting the destroyed city centre into valuable real estate. The approach reduced dependency on international aid, but it placed the development programme firmly in the hands of the private sector. Plans for preservation and reconstruction did not fully incorporate local expertise and task forces and left the community somewhat uninvolved in rehabilitation of their city. On the other hand, while the clearing of the city’s centre constituted a loss of some of the city’s architectural heritage, it did provide an opportunity for some archaeologists, including Lebanese experts, to uncover some chronologies of the ancient city and for local capacity development. The destruction of the souks (street markets) left a void in Beirut’s Recent view of Martyrs' Square with new construction visible in the Saifi District A map of the Beirut Central District showing the area managed by Solidère to the left of the ‘Green Line’ and more recent recovery work affected by the port explosion. Surrounding areas were not part of the reconstruction project.