the story of yellow house or Beit Beirut

1. Those who tell the story … RULES
SOCIETY
plato

2. The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon, lasting from 1975 to 1990 and
resulting in an estimated 120,000 fatalities, Today, approximately 76,000 people remain
displaced within Lebanon. There was also a mass exodus of almost one million people from
Lebanon as a result of the war.
When the Civil War erupted four decades later, the city divided along that very street, with
Christians to the east and Muslims to the west. It was the Green Line, a no-man's land where
bullets fell and only trees and shrubs were safe, growing unchecked into the streets along
Beirut's new faultline.
Historical Background :

3. A house was at the intermediate
zone between Christians east and
Muslims west which is : The
Barakat house, commissioned by
Nicholas and Victoria Barakat,
was designed and built in 1924 by
Lebanese architectYoussef
Aftimus , the architect who
created Beirut's city hall. In 1932
two more stories were added by
architect Fouad Kozah, giving the
building its current form
when Christian militiamen moved
in. The Barakat building became a
vantage point for sniping and a
combat zone to ensure the
control of the Sodeco crossroad
because of its airy architecture
and due to its location on the
demarcation line that separated
the warring factions

4. The civil war devastated the
Barakat building and neglect took
its toll on the structure, which
became the scene of repetitive
acts of vandalism; it was
sentenced for demolition in 1997
when the owners decided to sell
the property. It was saved by
Lebanese heritage activists,
particularly architect Mona Hallak
who first investigated the house in
1994 during one of her visits with
the "Association pour la
Protection des Sites et Anciennes
Demeures au Liban" (APSAD), an
independent organisation for the
protection of historic monuments
and buildings. Activists had
articles about the structure
published in the press almost on a
daily basis, wrote petitions, and
organized rallies in front of the
building. Protestations finally led
to the suspension of the decision
to destroy the building.

5. In 2003 The municipality of Beirut issued a decree of expropriation for public
interest.The decree stated that the Barakat building will be restored to
accommodate a memory museum and a cultural center (which will later be
known as "Beit Beirut") with objects tracing the 7000-year history of the city.
FromYellow House to Beit Beirut

6. A unique architectural landmark in the heart of Sodeco, Yellow House will undergo a full
restoration through a combination of heritage conservation, contemporary
architecture, and technological innovation.This symbolic site was chosen by the
Municipality of Beirut to become a unique cultural and architectural
landmark. Dedicated to the history of Beirut, Beit Beirut will allow Lebanese people
along with tourists to discover the city through its various (permanent and temporary)
activities and exhibitions. the museum will function through two units: (1) The Urban
Planning Unit, a joint venture between the Municipalities of Beirut and Paris, and (2)
Beirut’s Memory, a museum that will tell the history of the city.
FromYellow House to Beit Beirut

7. Beit Beirut will also serve as an urban observatory which stresses the importance of
preserving Beirut’s cultural identity and architectural heritage. TheYellow House, a
living testimony to Beirut’s war torn past, will house a museum dedicated to furthering
the understanding of Lebanese history.
"‫عام‬ ‫بني‬ ‫الذي‬ ‫المبنى‬ ‫ان‬1915‫ذاكرة‬ ‫لحفظ‬ ‫مكانا‬ ‫بل‬ ‫عاديا‬ ‫متحفا‬ ‫يكون‬ ‫لن‬‫بيروت‬
‫وحدتها‬ ‫وتجسيد‬."
‫حيدر‬ ‫يوسف‬(‫المسؤول‬ ‫المهندس‬)
Beit Beirut preserves cultural identity
and architectural heritage

8. workers were busy carefully
brushing faded walls, whilst
others worked on the
staircases (only the upper
sections remain – militias
demolished most of the stone
stairways during the war, to
block access to the building.)
All over the building, some 50
specialized workers were
restoring damaged walls and
attending to bullet holes, one
by one.
Dozens of workers seem
almost like nurses tending to
this phenomenal
building. Haidar comments: “I
feel like a surgeon, caring for
injuries, missing parts need
prosthesis, scars need
attention.”
RESTORATION

9. theYellow House will be
restored to accommodate:
- a museum,
- a cultural and artistic
meeting place,
- a facility for archiving
research and studies on the
city of Beirut throughout
history,
- an urban planning office
for the City of Beirut,
- an underground car-park.
- The decree also provides
for the construction of a
new building on the free
part of the land.

10. This, Haidar says, is how the finished
museum will look. With technical
assistance from Paris Municipality, his
team is ensuring that the building is
structurally sound and earthquake
resistant, and that it does not
deteriorate further.The facade and
interior, however, will remain as is,
bullet holes, snipers’ dens and all.
Gaps in the facade have been filled with
stainless steel beams – prosthetics, as
Haidar terms them, so that any
additions are immediately obvious.
Hallak has reservations about the prosthetics,
however, fearing they will reflect the sunlight,
distracting from the original facade.
“The less you see the stamp of the new
architect the more the architect is successful,”
she says. “That’s my point of view. Having
those stainless steel shingles on the facade ...
might stamp [the building] with war much
more than it should.”

11. This House summarizes Lebanese history before , and after the war happened. And
people are looking for the new project as a climb from War to Freedom
What’s been the reaction in Lebanon toward this
project ??
many people consider this an example to be
followed.
Mona el-Hallak:
But throughout the entire 15 years of this fight, the
only thing I’ve heard from people is “Don’t waste
your time. It’s not going to happen.”With all of the
political instability nowadays, heritage and
restoration are not big priorities for the
government – or the people. I only succeeded by
being persistent and making sure that people
thought twice about what they were doing.
The whole thing has shown people that if you really
believe in something you can achieve it – even in
such a corrupt city like Beirut. And even in a place
where real estate speculation doesn’t give you a
chance to think about saving a heritage building.