Beirut is city rich with heritage buildings representing the architectural glamour of the Ottoman and French-mandate eras, these buildings form the most important aspects of Beirut’s history, memory, and identity.
As a result of the construction boom, Lebanese war, and recently the Beirut port explosion, some buildings were destroyed, others turned to dust, and the rest are just weak, emaciated structures collapsing at any moment.
The Restoration of what’s left from these buildings is a national, human, and civil duty.
Through funding from the Embassy of Japan in Lebanon, UN-Habitat and its partners are rehabilitating 11 residential heritage buildings in the Rmeil Cluster damaged by the Beirut Port explosion. This activity is under implementation by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), in close coordination with the Municipality of Beirut and in partnership with Live Love Lebanon, PARCIC, URDA and CCP Japan. This activity is part of UN-Habitat’s wider project – funded by the Embassy of Japan in Lebanon – that is also supporting the Beirut Fire Brigade with telecommunications equipment, installing 15 handwashing stations across Mar Mikhael, upgrading 5 alleyways in Maraach, Bourj Hammoud and reviving William Hawi and Laziza parks. Benefiting from our Cash for Work activity, 100 workers are carrying out the construction work, rehabilitating weak buildings while adhering to the highest safety standards, helping this way to reconnect people with their past, and to ensure that present and future generations can experience and enjoy the physical expression of past generations.
