Cities and Architecture are a complex outcome developed over time and space. At the crossroad between East and West, Mediterranean Middle Eastern cities are the result of different models built, superposed and transformed over the course of history. Beirut is no exception, as towards the late 19th century, its urban fate was at the intersection of two visions of Westernization, the late Ottoman and the early French mandate ones. From provincial capital of Wilâya part of Bilad al-Sham territories to a capital of the state of Lebanon, Beirut administrative role changed considerably in the span of only few decades. This seminar taps into Beirut’s Westernized urban identity through the lens of its public spaces, discussed within the broader geographical, administrative and political context. While discussing its public spaces transformations, this checkered narrative does not under-estimate the implications on Architecture, sporadically highlighting different related architectural styles and typologies.

Biography:

Dr. Nadine Hindi is a practicing architect since 1997 and an urban designer, currently an Assistant Professor at Notre Dame University in Lebanon, at the department of Architecture since 2015. Holder of a Bachelor degree in Architecture from the American University of Beirut, she pursued a Master and a PhD degrees in urban regeneration at the University of Barcelona in Spain. Her research and publications focus on urban topics including urban forms, urban history, war geography, public spaces and waterfront cases. She organized and participated in international workshops with her students and attended international seminars and conferences. She has been an invited speaker at public lectures in cities like Berlin, Weimar, Barcelona, and Amman, and contributed to community serving by co-organizing training modules to a local NGO on the right to public and waterfront spaces.