IN THE NAME OF RESILIENCE
“In the Name of Resilience' is an urban response to the different crises that are currently ravaging the city of Beirut. In a context where the population’s wellbeing is completely disregarded by the State, this project rethinks the nature of infrastructures of care by building a network decentralised interventions on small inconstructible parcels dispersed across the urban fabric. By providing care on a very local and human level it exposes the population to the possibility of an alternative Social Contract revolving around the wellbeing of the citizen.”
Philip Gharios, 2021.
SYNOPSIS
This project proposes an alternative architectural paradigm, focused on care rather than profit, centred on people rather than capital, built with intelligence rather than arrogance. Its is a collaboration and a conversation with different actors of the dynamic civil society of Beirut. It brings different people, ideas, and resources together to propose a network of spaces catered for the civic, social, and humanitarian needs of the different neighbourhoods of the city.
The proposed interventions explore design strategies to navigate through the ‘inconstructibility’ of the parcels. Ignored for decades, these parcels are unlocked for the rapid construction of different structures that vary in function and size to support a wide variety of services—such as medical or legal consultations, economic or mental health support, and cultural or political disruptions. By retaining a distinct architectural language that signals the presence of care throughout the city, architecture here becomes a key ingredient for change.
Through this network of highly frictional infrastructures, an environment of care for the citizen is overlaid on the urban fabric of the city, as a response to the collective anxieties of living in this uncaring neoliberal city. This sets an important precedent for the potential future development of public infrastructures while introducing a much- needed social safety net to the population, amplifying voices that need to be heard and increasing the right to the city.
PHILIP GHARIOS
Philip Gharios is a multidisciplinary designer and researcher from Lebanon that graduated from the Architectural Association in 2021 with Diploma Honours. His practice is informed by trans-disciplinary interests revolving around the tensions between the social, political, environmental, and humanitarian fields, to explore the potential of architecture in the generation of change across different societies. His current focus is on a long-term project that aims at deconstructing the neo-colonial and neoliberal concept of 'resilience' in order to use architecture as a resistance tool that can empower grass-root initiatives and enhance societal change