The House of Arts & Culture in Beirut

international architecture competition

The House of Arts and Culture (the Lebanese-Omani Centre) will be a space for cultural and artistic production, for exchange and interaction between the largest number of Lebanese and especially the youth. It will be an independent space with the aim to contribute to social communication and cultural expansion and to promote creativity in different fields of art and culture.

Therefore, the Centre should attract a large number of Lebanese every day of the year. Its public should be diverse and go beyond the few "regulars" that attend theatre halls, exhibitions or other cultural centres spread in Beirut and the country. To achieve this goal, the Centre should be a free space of artistic expression with no boundaries. Its functions and agenda, multiple but equilibrated, should be open to all kinds of Art, including those that encourage interactivity between artists and their public, conferences, workshops, free initiatives, etc.

To answer these needs the House will be accessible and highly visible. Its architecture and the dynamism and vitality of its programme and events would turn it into a magnet for the Lebanese and the Arabs. It will project Beirut in the art community and become a leading place of the Arab World. In this sense, it would reinforce the leading role of Beirut in the field of arts and culture. The House is not conceived as a museum; it will not house permanent collections. It will however host temporary national, regional and international exhibitions. Interactivity between the House, its visitors and the population at large is an essential process. Professionals, scientists, artists, will be invited to organize and lead workshops, conferences, forums, visits of exhibitions and other activities. The House will act as an incubator. It will provide training sessions, spaces and equipment to boost creativity and transdisciplinary exchanges. The vitality of the House should be reflected in its programme: the House is a machine, a plant that continuously produces a diversified offer to cater for the many. Its visit should be an enchantment and a pleasure. Rigidity, routine, conformity, static are to be banned from its functioning and from the presentation of its activities.

The international architectural competition that is launched under the auspices of the International Union of Architects (UIA) is based on this concept and ideas for a programme of functioning, of space uses and objectives.

 

Awards
- 1st Prize USD 75,000
- 2nd Prize USD 40,000
- 3rd Prize USD 25,000

 

Competition Schedule

29 September, 2008 Closure of Submissions (17:00 Beirut time) and opening to competitors of restricted area of web site (18:00 Beirut time)

31 October, 2008 End of Submission of Questions (18:00 Beirut time)

15 November, 2008
Answers to questions sent to competitors

30 January, 2009
Last date for delivery or mailing of entries (18:00 Beirut time)

10 February 2009
Last date for reception of entries (18:00 Beirut time)

 

Web Site:
- www.darbayrut.org

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