Architecture
Why a Museum Today?
Museums play a crucial role in preserving our identity to be recorded, remembered and shared.
Lebanon is in need of a dedicated home to bridge the gaps in its cultural eco-system:
- A home for our National Collection to nurture our identity
- A common cultural public space open to the community
- A space for professional training
- A centralised space for research and documentation
- International museum standard practices
- Engaging exhibition & performance spaces
- A stimulated cultural economy
Green Philosophy
The architecture presents efficient solutions to Beirut's urban, cultural and environmental needs.
Architecture
Conceived as an open museum, Amale Andraos’ design, is a hybrid of Modernist balconies and Beirut’s vintage Art Deco verandas.
The architect has focused on exactly what a museum design should express in the 21st century:
"A museum as a community, not a temple." Kim Benzel, Curator at the Met about BeMA
Designed Around the Three Central Pillars of its Mission
Safeguard:
BEMA will house and preserve a Classical, Modern, and Contemporary collection of Lebanese heritage in an open, green building complemented by a virtual platform
Create:
BEMA will foster opportunities for artistic production and dissemination by collaborating with creatives in Lebanon, the region and globally
Engage:
BEMA will give access to communities by offering cultural and learning programs, in the service of a free-thinking civil society
Site
Situated within yards of the National Museum, BeMA will be in the heart of Beirut on the premises of the Saint-Joseph University (USJ), along the Museum Mile.
Building Timeline
2016
Architectural Competition launch & Jurors Chaired by Lord Peter Palumbo. George Arbid, Dr. Farés el-Dahdah, Rodolphe el-Khoury, Lamia Joreige, Rem Koolhaas, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Dame Julia Peyton-Jones & Lord Richard Rogers. Honorary Member Dame Zaha Hadid
2018
Lebanese-born architect Amale Andraos and WORKac appointed to design BeMA's future building
2022
Against all odds, BeMA lays the first stone on site
2026
With your contribution, the promise of BeMA will be completed
The Architect: Amale Andraos, WORKac
Amale Andraos, former dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, current special adviser to the President of the University and co-founder of New York City architecture firm WORK Architecture Company (WORKac), describes her design of the planned building as an act of willful optimism to help the Lebanese imagine a joyful future. Amale Andraos explains that the building was conceived to be accessible to all with the art it showcases and the vital cultural interactions it can generate around it.
“The building’s architecture is in conversation with the city’s past urban histories and its present vibrancy.” Amale Andraos
