Normandy, Beirut, LB
Mary Assimakopoulou, Iris Sofia Lintovoi

During the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), the city of Beirut discarded daily approximately 1.200 tonnes of municipal waste in the Mediterranean coast resulting into the creation of the Normandy Landfill. In the postwar reconstruction years, Normandy became a real estate asset due to its adjacency to the historic and economic centre of Beirut. Political pressures due to economic incentives urged the reconstruction planners to envisage the landfill’s reclamation and development as the extension of the Beirut Central District project along the coast. Solidere undertook the transformation of the entire coastal area into a safe and profitable development claiming to be friendly to both the people and the environment. Having been given the greenlight by the government, the project took two years to be completed.

Public Utopia

Throughout the research investigation on Normandy (1:2.000) but also on Lebanon (1:100.000) we discovered that today, although Lebanon is a coastal country, its citizens can enjoy limited public access to the coast. In central Beirut, the entire coastline has been privatized with the exception of Ramlet Al-Baida beach. Our design strategy aims at the creation of a public coastal paradise in the heart of Beirut at Normandy. The reclaimed territory of the former landfill will be fully accessible and open to the public, a mediterranean meadow unfolding into a spectacular beach. Locals and visitors will be able to enjoy nature and urbanity; leisure and sports in a reclaimed and demoratic, sustainable and self-sufficient coastal ecosystem.