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Project name :

Conservation Management Plan for Tripoli Fair

Project duration :

30 June 2024

Location :

Tripoli, Lebanon

Funded by the Getty Foundation through its Keeping It Modern initiative, the project aims at developing a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the Rachid Karami International Fair complex in order to guarantee the preservation of its cultural, architectural and historical value in any future development process.

The Rachid Karami International Fair (RKIF) was designed by renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, in 1962, as a permanent fairground and exhibition center in Tripoli. However, the outbreak of the civil war and its aftermath hindered the fairground’s completion and its later development. Although it remains unfinished, the RKIF is considered one of the most iconic architectural projects of the modern period in Lebanon. It incorporates over 15 structures, including exhibition spaces, pavilions, theaters, museums, and residences. The functional variation of the structures is matched by a distinction in their architectural forms: while they belong to a coherent whole, each structure has a unique architectural identity. The RKIF was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List in 2018.

The Fairground’s structures are vulnerable to decay, and repairs are currently needed to ensure the survival of this modern legacy. However, prior to undertaking physical repairs, restoration, or development initiatives, a consensus on a general conservation policy is essential. Similar policies are usually compiled within a planning document known as a Conservation Management Plan (CMP). Such a plan acts as a guiding tool for property owners and managers to have informed decisions related to the future conservation and development of the Fairground.

With the support of the  (2018), UNESCO Beirut Office is collaborating with a team of local and international experts to conduct the research and studies necessary for developing a CMP for the Fairground. This document will study the RKIF’s context and highlight its cultural significance and the diverse values it mediates. It will also discuss the vulnerabilities of its physical fabric, and outline appropriate conservation policies to preserve what is significant about the RKIF in future restoration or reuse plans.

Before formulating a future vision, it is necessary to study the historical background of the Fairground, its current general condition, and the structure of its governance. The development of the RKIF_CMP will be based on data collected through archival research and oral histories, field evaluation of the RKIF's material fabric, the interests of local stakeholders, and Tripoli’s needs as an urban entity. This data will enable the development of guiding principles and conservation policies which fit the local context and encourage the development of Niemeyer’s ‘Rachid Karami International Fair’ without jeopardizing either its integrity or authenticity.

The RKIF_CMP project adopts a participatory approach that invites the Fair’s administration and other major stakeholders to be involved in the preservation of the valuable structures and landscape Niemeyer designed.

The RKIF_CMP project aims to prepare the appropriate Conservation Management Plan for the site.  The set Plan ensures that no blunders are made in the future with regard to structural repairs and development, and that any intervention carried out will accord with the framework of international conservation policies adopted by UNESCO, while also responding to local needs.

The CMP’s aims are:

1. Understanding the diverse values of the Fairground.
2. Addressing current technical issues, impacts, vulnerabilities, constraints and opportunities.
3. Developing guiding policies for preserving what is significant about the Fairground.
4. Identifying possible adaptive reuse strategies towards the compatible development of the Fairground.

Largely comprised of research-based study, the first phase of this project involves gathering information through archival research, oral histories and field investigation. This field research closely assesses the current condition of fabric, construction techniques and materials used. The research further highlights the Fair's character-defining qualities, the structure of its management (both legal and administrative), as well as the potential stakeholders involved.

The analysis of collected data will deepen the understanding of the RKIF’s context and support an elaboration on the myriad values that need to be protected or preserved, including aesthetic, architectural, technical, social, urban, economic and cultural values. Ultimately, the UNESCO team will draft the conservation policies that best protect the authenticity and character of the site and respond to the local context.

The CMP document will have an appreciably positive impact, by:

• Assisting the decision makers to take informed decisions towards better management of imminent change.
• Contributing to the proper restoration and development of the fair
• Contributing to the efforts of the State Party towards the inscription of the RKIF on the World Heritage List.

The RKIF_CMP project is a pilot project in Lebanon, through which UNESCO aims to set the standards and provide guidelines suitable for the local context, in order to encourage for similar practices to be adopted in the future, for all types of heritage buildings.

The Conservation Management Plan is a document that provides guidance for better conservation and management of the RKIF as a modern cultural heritage site.

The project encourages national stakeholders to consider how to link the RKIF’s function with the sustainable urban development goals of the City of Tripoli while safeguarding the Fair’s cultural significance.

Contributing to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in urban contexts, the CMP sets a course of action for future development policies and strategies of the city and the site itself. In particular, the project shall contribute to goal 11 of the SDG, specifically targeting 11.4: “Strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural heritage”.

UNESCO Project Lead

Research Team

Technical Team

Project Interns

Activities and News

During the mid-20th century, a recently-independent Lebanon was gaining popularity as an international and regional destination and Beirut became known as “the center of the Middle-East”. The Presidency of Fouad Chehab (1958-1964) ushered in a new era of modernization and social liberalization in Lebanon, relying, unlike his predecessors, on a strong central state. Chehab’s main goal was to curb growing inequality between the wealthy merchant cosmopolis of Beirut and the poor underdeveloped rural areas. The concept of, what came to be known as, the Rachid Karami International Fair (RKIF) was tied to Chehab's embrace of social welfare, and intended to make Tripoli a cultural and economic locus outside of Beirut. It also evidenced a politics of optimism, which assumed a better future for Lebanon. Designed by renowned Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1962, the RKIF was loosely inspired by his earlier design for Brazil’s futuristic new capital, Brasilia. The fairground was built to house a planned permanent international fair, capable of accommodating up to 2 million visitors a year, including, among others, a grand exhibition hall, a national pavilion, and an outdoor concert stage. Construction began early 1964, and was executed by the local companies Abouhamad, ACE and Dar Al-Handasa.

However, the RKIF remained unfinished 10 years later. This was due to successive interruptions in its construction as funds needed to be secured to enable each new phase of work. Then, in the spring of 1975, when the fairground was on the verge of being finalized, violence erupted: the Civil War and, later, foreign military control, left the fairground incomplete and abandoned for years. At the turn of the 21st century, the RKIF’s cultural and historical significance finally gained worldwide recognition. In 2018, thanks to rousing local efforts to protect and revitalize the complex, the RKIF was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage tentative list. The development of a conservation plan has since been initiated. While the finalization of the Conservation Plan and the complex’s full inscription on the official World Heritage List are underway, the fairground needs immediate maintenance and some structural repairs to preserve its integrity. It is our hope that the Lebanese State will give due attention to this gem of modern heritage by securing the necessary funds to enable the preservation, and eventual rehabilitation, of the RKIF.

Check our Interactive Timeline 

1958: Towards the end of President Camille Chamoun’s term in office, the Exhibition Committee of the Ministry of Planning decides to hold an annual international fair in Beirut and launches a project for this purpose. 

1960: As a result of local efforts and a 1958 governmental decision to establish greater regional balance in development and economic growth across the country, President Fouad Chehab signs the formal acceptance to proceed with "The Permanent International Fair" choosing Tripoli as its final location.

1961: The President of the Council, Saeb Salam, allocates for the fair an expropriated plot of 400,000 m² in Tripoli. The newly established Conseil Exécutif des Grands Projets (CEGP) assigns international experts to advise on the planning of this Fair. 

1962: Niemeyer arrives in Beirut on July 28 for the first site inspection and develops a schematic design proposal. On September 3, President Rachid Karami presents the scale model in a press conference. Niemeyer describes the Fair as a ‘’Museum of the Modern object’’.

1963: The laying of the foundational stone is celebrated in a ceremonial opening on the first of October. The study and development of the Fair are commissioned to three local consulting firms: Abouhamad, ACE, and Dar Al-Handasah.

1964: Early in the year, construction work for the Fair begins in earnest. The inauguration of the Fair is scheduled for three years from the construction’s starting date. 

1966: Oscar Niemeyer visits Lebanon again to follow up on site work and the construction process. However, because of delay in the work progress and shortage of funds, the Fair’s opening is rescheduled for 1969.

1968: With rising concerns about further delays on national and international levels, Uthman ad-Dana, Minister of Public Works at the time, calls for investigation in the construction delay in ongoing public projects, including the Fair and the expansion of Beirut's Airport.

1969: The Lebanese state agrees to increase the budget commission in order to expedite the completion of the Fair. 

1970: In May, Niemeyer addresses a letter to the CEGP expressing his satisfaction for the executed work and his concern concerning the slow pace of the construction process. Niemeyer calls for additional efforts to expedite the work, considering that Tripoli’s Fair is one of his most appreciated projects.

1971: Critics express concerns about continuing delay in the Fair's construction. Protesters question the Fair’s modern design and the language of architectural modernism, in view of the fact that it is a publicly owned complex.

1975: The outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War leads to the cessation of further site work. In the following year, the Arab Deterrent Force, mainly the Syrian Army forces, take military control of the Fairground and its almost complete structures, until its partial evacuation in 1994.

1980: In July, the Chairman of the Fair’s Administration Council requests the complete evacuation of the Fairgrounds. In October, two international experts, Jemp Michels and Roger Weber visit the Fair, report on the work that remains to be done, and set a tentative completion date of 1982-1983. 

1982: All projects related to the Fair are once again halted upon the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. In the following year, the Fair’s Administration Council expresses a desire to resign due to the difficult conditions created by the continued Syrian military occupation of the site. 

1994: The Syrian Army partially evacuates the Fairgrounds. Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri launches a targeted rehabilitation plan, in an effort to actualize the Fair’s initially intended function. 

1995: The International Fair of Lebanon in Tripoli is officially renamed Rachid Karami International Fair (RKIF). Despite limited military presence, several international and regional exhibitions are staged at RKIF between 1995 and 1998. 

1998: Following the complete military withdrawal from the site, several efforts to redevelop and revitalize RKIF complex as an international fairground take place.

2005: The Fair’s architectural identity, threatened by large scale development proposals, arouses local and international media interest, bringing attention to the value of this modern project.

2006: Following a local campaign, the World Monument Fund, an organization dedicated to the protection of threatened cultural sites, lists the Fair on its 2006 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

2018: The international community recognizes Niemeyer’s masterpiece in Tripoli by including RKIF to UNESCO’s World Heritage tentative list.

2019: With the support of the Getty Foundation, UNESCO’s Regional Office in Beirut begins the development of a conservation management plan for RKIF.

2023: On January 25, Rachid Karami International Fair-Tripoli is inscribed on the World Heritage List for its Outstanding Universal Value as one of the most representative works of modern architecture of the 20^th century in the Arab States. Due to the critical state of conservation of its concrete structures, the site was simultaneously inscribed on the World Heritage List in Danger.

2024: UNESCO Beirut Office concludes a Conservation Management Plan for RKIF; a project that was launched By UNESCO in 2019 with the support of the Getty Foundation through its Keeping it Modern initiative.