[Trans]Forming Nahr Beirut

During the twentieth century, infrastructures perfected monolithic, top-down solutions and embodied—above all considerations—efficiency, technology and standardization. Prevailing practices after World War II ensued a worldwide legacy of mechanized infrastructures: standardized drainage and flooding structures, canalized rivers, normalized public works, concealed water processes, and disconnection between natural systems and man-made systems. However, the twenty-first century witnessed unprecedented economic and ecological crises at a global scale, leading to the failure of such practices, and a need to shift to softer approaches to infrastructure.