Al Hamra Khadra | Public Space
Landscape design & Urban design
Beirut | Lebanon
Conceptual Design | 2011

During my final year project at the American University of Beirut, I chose to work on Hamra; an extremely compact neighborhood located in the highly urbanized city of Beirut, Lebanon. Hamra is virtually an overly “built” area today to the extent that any further expansion is impossible unless already existing structures are demolished and replaced. The neighborhood does not have any public open space or any public park left for people to divert the stress caused by their hectic days.  

The dire need for the use of outdoor spaces was revealed to me by observing the sidewalks, streets, and alleys of Beirut. Consequently, I picked Hamra’s alleys as my final project - these narrow streets circling buildings that are used as pedestrian shortcuts, to induce Public Green Open Spaces. The Hamra neighborhood project is one example signifying how focusing on the design of narrow streets could be greatly utilized, appreciated and taken into consideration. Hence, taking advantage of such spaces could be one solution to the many unresolved dilemmas of rapid urbanization.