The Beirut Municipal Council and Order of Architects & Engineers in Beirut has called on students around the world to submit entries for a new Port of Beirut, in the wake of the tragedy that saw the port and the adjacent part of the city destroyed in August 2020. 

The competition, organised by the Inspireli Awards, Lebanon’s Department of Architecture, CTU in Prague and Lebanese architect Alexandre Zein, has been created to offer humanitarian aid to Beirut through the unique designs and innovations of submissions. 

The restoration of the port will be a talking point for universities throughout winter and spring semesters this year, hence the final submission date being February 14 2022. There will be two first prizes given to the best Lebanese submission and the best international submission, with a 2nd and 3rd place, plus 20 special mentions given to the best projects. The winning projects will participate in the reconstruction of the Port of Beirut and receive financial prizes, certificates, and international recognition.

The future Port of Beirut will be rebuilt and financed by Lebanon’s Finance, Design, Built, Operate and Transfer Department (F.D.B.O.T). Port authorities and the Ministry of Public Work and Transportation are currently setting their requirements and conditions list which will shape both the work of entrants, as well as the future of the port itself.

The requirements of the project are very open-ended, with minimal limits set, with the only main request from competition authorities being that the transport clusters of the port should be kept unchanged. It is not necessarily compulsory to keep the zoning on its previous configuration, although the port needs to operate appropriately within the confines of the land, in order to create more room for economic and social possibilities for investment.

The Port of Beirut explosion saw over 200 people die and over 6000 people injured in a blast caused by approximately 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate. The whole area has been levelled, leaving around 300,000 homeless and creating major economical headaches for Beirut and Lebanon as a whole.

The Port of Beirut Renewal Competition is now accepting submissions, with registrations concluding in February 2022. For more information, visit inspireli.com/en/awards/beirut-documents.

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