Tripoli: The Latest Architecture and News

As part of Tripoli’s economic revival plan, the International Union of Architects (UIA), in collaboration with the Lebanese Federation of Engineers and Architects (on behalf of the Tripoli Special Economic Zone / TSEZ), the Union of Mediterranean Architects (UMAR), and the Lebanese Government, have launched an international architecture competition to create a Knowledge and Innovation Center in the northern city of Lebanon.

The proposed site is situated on an empty lot within Oscar Niemeyer’s abandoned Rachid Karami International Fair, a modernist exhibition complex that has yet to see the light of restoration. The objective of the competition is to create a technology and business hub which will foster and promote start-up businesses and entrepreneurs, attracting students, young graduates, local and international companies to Tripoli and the neighboring region.

+ 12

Lebanon is home to several outstanding structures, influenced by centuries of architectural styles. However, one of the most intriguing projects in the Middle Eastern country lies in the northern city of Tripoli, a culturally-rich historical city with structures once inhabited by Romans, Crusaders, Phoenicians, and Ottomans. The Rachid Karami International Exhibition Center, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, reflects the slow deterioration from Lebanon’s pre-war golden age to post-war depression. The country's iconic modernist site has suffered after years of neglect and reportedly will require upwards of 15 million dollars to restore.

+ 15

+ 15

• Architects

  Tabanlioglu Architects

• Location

  Tripoli, Libya

• Category

  Learning

• Architectural Project Team

  Salih Yılgörür, Ali Çalışkan, Emre Özberk, Oktay Murat, Zeynep Eker, Merve Demirbaş, Elif Akçakaya, Salih Çıkman, Işıl Taşkın, Başak Uysal, Elif Selçuk, Zeynep Çorakçı

• Architect in Charge

  Melkan Gürsel, Murat Tabanlıoğlu

• Area

  25000.0 m2

• Project Year

  2010

• Photographs

  Cemal Emden