Beirut City Museum, Beirut

Renzo Piano Building Workshop 


The project seeks to inform about the history of the city of Beirut. It is located between the Tell Archeological Site – which represents the ancient past –, and the Martyr’s Square – representing the recent past. The concept is about one site and one vision, as a unifying place and destination.The new Museum will inhabit the excavation, providing spaces dedicated to exhibitions and open to the archaeological park.

Permeability and transparency are crucial to preserve the view from the Martyrs’ Square axis towards the sea. The created pedestrian-friendly area surrounding the Museum has a very important human and urban design dimension. As a natural extension of the Martyrs’ Square, a new public piazza open to the city will take place in front of the museum.

As part of Beirut’s history, the project seeks some navigation and nautical inspiration. Like a lighthouse or a lantern, a light cube of glass inhabits the heart of the project watching the sea, keeping an eye on the archaeology. Transparency, luminosity, and lightness will be used to achieve a very subtle relationship between archaeology, nature, and technology with respect to the environment and the urban rules.


Obra Work
Museo de la Ciudad de Beirut 
Beirut City Museum

Cliente Client
Solidere

Arquitectos Architects
Renzo Piano Building Workshop en colaboración con in collaboration with Fouad Menem & Partners