This document summarizes a student workshop that aimed to reconsider the urban condition of Karm El-Zeitoun in Beirut. The workshop identified obstacles for disabled residents, such as staircases and unfriendly streets. Participants proposed interventions like a new pedestrian route connecting important areas and making them more accessible, as well as redesigning the area around a school to be safer and more welcoming for disabled people through additions like a green wall and market place. The workshop was organized by students from LAU, USEK and other universities to develop ideas for improving the neighborhood for disabled residents.

1. URBAN BLESSING
Marwa Mansour1, Nisrine Zaatari2, Haya Otba3, Rayan Mounayar4
123LAU
4USEK
Lebanese American University, June 28-July 6, 2019 Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

2. Allocation & History of Karm El Zeitoun
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

3. SESSINE SQUARE
CHARLES MALEK STREET
BURJ HAMMOUD
MAR MIKHAEL
ARMENIASTREET
DOWNTOWN
BCD: BEIRUT CENTRAL
DISTRICT
GEMMAYZE
N
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun
Proposed PedestrianPath
Proposed Pedestrian Path Passes through a major knot in the area

4. Square
Cafe
Armenian
Church Proposed PedestrianRoute
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

5. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

6. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

7. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

8. Square
Cafe
Armenian
Church Proposed PedestrianRoute
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

9. A Blind Friendly Environment at SquareCafé:
A Handicapped
woman lives in her
house where she
needs to use a
staircase to reach it.
She never goes out.
Square Café acts as a starting point to our master plan, where
from there we continue to insert our intervention creating a
new vision for the area. According to Mrs. Linda Macktaby the
Director of “Blessed”, the menus where in braille ( where it’s a
system to enable the blind to read) in cooperation with
REDOAK NGO.
However, the path for the disable to reach Karam El Zeitoun
and the school is still full of obstacles.
The man is a teacher
in the school andlives
next to the church
besides the huge
staircase. He goes
home depending only
on his memory.
A huge staircase is the
major way where
people move in the
city.
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

10. Square Armenian
Cafe Church Proposed Pedestrian Route
NEW Proposed Pedestrian Route
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

11. In order to make the new proposed road disable friendly:
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

12. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

13. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

14. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

15. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

16. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

17. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

18. Square
Cafe
Armenian
Church Proposed Pedestrian Route
NEW Proposed PedestrianRoute
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

19. In order to offer a safe environment for the disable, How can we treat the area around the School?
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

20. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

21. Location: Around the school Surrounding Obstacles VIEW TAKEN FROM HIGHWAY
School
Blocked Staircase
Greenary – UnUsed Void
Unfriendly Street
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

22. Expansion of the school
Gate Placed by school Blocking Road
Open Courtyard leading to workshop
Surrounding Additions & Gates
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

23. EXISTING GATES AND SCHOOL EXTENSION
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

24. Intervention – Case Study
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

25. INTERVENTION
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

26. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

27. MARKET PLACE & GREEN WALL
Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

28. Beirut Workshop : Reconsidering the Urban Condition of Karm El-Zeitoun

29. Organised by:
If you would like more information about the content of this
presentation please contact:
beirutworkshop@oikonet.org
or visit our web site
oikonet-beirutworkshop.blogspot.com