GM-Architects presents the Museum of Civilizations at Venice Architecture Biennale 2014 | GALAL MAHMOUD

“The ‘Museum of Civilizations’ project is sited on Martyrs’ Square in the heart of Beirut, and built upon a site sunk deep into the successive strata of the civilizations that underlie Beirut, a city which has been, in turn, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and French. This astonishing museum will be an archaeological dig, exhibition space and a place for quiet reflection all in one – an expression of Lebanon’s rich history, showcasing the genetic make-up of a profoundly multicultural country. Our emphatically contemporary design is informed by an approach that is best defined as ‘contextual immersion’ - possessing an awareness of the past and rooted in the culture of the location in question.”

                                                                                Galal Mahmoud, founder of GM Architects

The project is to consist of an outer metal framework, 20 metres deep and 60 metres long, featuring a series of platforms at different levels. Each of these platforms will examine one of the civilizations that once made Lebanon their home, offering the opportunity for the visitor to engage in a dialogue with a society, a culture that is no more, but which remains suspended in time and in the ground beneath our feet.

An expanse of water, representing the Mediterranean, the cradle of all of Lebanon’s civilizations, stretches out at the lowest level; beneath a suspended model of Kubrick’s 2001 monolith. The face of the monolith is smooth and unmarked, whilst its back is in a process of gradual disintegration, evoking the inherent uncertainty of the future.

This project offers a chance to consider what lies at the very heart of the architect’s work, in other words, the ability to grasp the historical foundations and fundamentals of a people with a view to facilitating the creation of a harmonious, ordered and peaceful society through architectural discourse.