Pearl president, Nienke Nauta, is based in Lebanon since May 5 to organize an international workshop about public space in Lebanon together with Studio Beirut. Furthermore she's working in the South of Lebanon, in the village Tayr Debba on the realization of a computerproject and a playground with a park (see also Projects, Tayr Debba).

The workshop 'Public space?' will take place from August 17 till August 31 in Beirut, the North and the South of Lebanon. An international faculty with lecturers and critics from Lebanon, Holland, Norway and the USA will explore the concept of public space in Lebanon together with a group of 30 participants from Lebanon, Germany, Swiss, Holland, USA, Slovenia, Aruba, Egypt and Russia. In an attempt to define the notion of public space in Lebanon the participants will follow the old Lebanese railway. The participants will work on locations that have the potential to become a public space. After the workshop we will organize an international competition to generate an executable plan for one of these potential public spaces. 

 
Curious? The opening debate at August 18 and the final debate with Pearls in Lebanon which takes place at August 31 in The Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut (moderated by Ole Bouman, director of the Dutch Architectural Institute), will be open to a broader audience. Please check the programme at www.pearl-foundation.com or download it from the Studio Beirut website: www.studiobeirut.org.

In collaboration with:

The Order of Engineers and Architects, Beirut

With a financial contribution of:

Fonds Werken aan Wonen (financial support programme for social housing)

Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beirut

Claus en Kaan Architecten

ARGUS, studentsassociation, Architectural faculty, TU Delft

For more information about the initiators and organizers see also:

www.pearl-foundation.com 

www.studiobeirut.org (with live stream broadcasting in the second week of the workshop)

www.archis.org

www.partizanpublik.nl