On 4 August 2020, Beirut was rocked by the biggest non-nuclear explosion ever recorded in an urban context. How should the reconstruction of the city now take place in its current political and socio-economic context?​

This symposium will look at the different forces that shaped what happened, the incident itself, and the different strategies required to reconstruct Beirut in the aftermath of this tragedy. As a series of short-term and long-term proposals, sessions across this day-long event will be chaired by AA students and will discuss ways in which heritage, reconstruction, community-led projects, and interdisciplinary exchange can all be addressed in the post-blast context.

00:00 – 03:05 – Introduction (Riyad Yassine)
3:05 – 4:45 – Session Introduction (Philip Gharios)
4:45 – 14:54 – Mobilising in a period of crisis: Lebanon – (Sibylle George/IMPACT LEBANON)
15:43 – 26:53 – Beirut Port Explosion: Tools for Investigation – (Kishan San/FORENSIC ARCHITECTURE)
27:26 – 39:52 – Initiatives in Response to the Beirut Blast – (Nour Zoghby Fares/BEIRUT URBAN LAB)
40:25 – 46:15 – Souls of Beirut – (Sensy Mania/AA School)
46:18 – 1:10:54 – Discussion/Q&A

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