Zeitouneh Square

IGA Role: Collaboration on design development & supervision

Collaborations: Gustafson Porter, London

Location: Beirut, Lebanon

Situated to the south of the Old Shoreline Walk, Zeitouneh Square is a key link to the surrounding city. The square will become a celebration of modern Beirut and a place for cultural activities. Terraces make utilise the existing slope to provide open space for cultural activities, such as concerts, festivals, films.

The surfacing of the square is extended across the surrounding roads, by using bold paving colours the surfacing reads as one, uniting the enclosing buildings as one space. The bold paving patterns are inspired by the black and white pattern of the traditional architecture like Khan A’sad Pasha in Damascus. The paving stripes change with the height of the ground plane creating a fractal landscape as the contrasting colours interact with the terraces.