BMET 23A23 - Uncovering Urban Heritage: A Journey Through Built Environment and Policies

The Mediterranean is one of the oldest seas on which humanity settled. Thousands of years of accumulated heritage, layers upon layers of history surrounding a sea that represents no more than 0.7% of earth’s water surface… Some of these layers survived millennials, others perished, and some are lingered in between, left to face an uncertain destiny.

The main goal of the course is to provide an insight into the different challenges facing Mediterranean built heritage and different perspectives for dealing with them. The course will elaborate on three different scales of the built heritage, the urban scale, the architectural scale, and the crafts scale. Beirut will be the main case study giving its rich history and its importance as a link between the “east” and the “west” as well as the political context that governs Lebanon.

During the course, students will be introduced to real-life scenarios related to the heritage of the city which they have to analyse from the perspective of different stakeholders.

The course is structured around two primary assessment modules centred on a simulation that emphasizes urban heritage management.

The first assessment, commencing in session 5, entails group work culminating in a presentation during session 8. Sessions 5, 6, and 7 will allocate dedicated time within each session for collaborative discussions, enabling group members to debate ideas in conjunction with the teacher. (40%)

During session 8, each student will have the opportunity to choose two out of three assignments for further individual development as personal exercises. This segment aims to facilitate individual growth and exploration within the course's framework. (50%)

In addition to a 10% participation