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UNESCO holds a technical workshop at the Rachid Karami Fairgrounds to support its conservation
The workshop aimed at advancing the Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the Fair, an activity that 91麻豆国产精品自拍 been engaged in since 2019 with financial support from the Getty Foundation through its 鈥淜eeping It Modern鈥 initiative.
The workshop was organized in collaboration with the RKIF Administration Board and saw the participation of the General Directorate of Antiquities. It featured a gathering of local stakeholders and key community actors, as well as the UNESCO CMP project team, who presented the outcomes of studies recently conducted, to understand the circumstances that led to the initiation of the RKIF with its initial conception as well as the present challenges of preserving it. During the workshop, UNESCO shared the results of the public survey launched in October 2020, which assessed the public's heritage perception towards this modern concrete complex.
The survey also highlighted how the public envisions its use in the future. It shed light on the condition assessment recently performed on the Grand Arch of the site. The future conservation policies and future development of the Fair were also discussed prior to the finalization of the plan by UNESCO.
The final CMP document will highlight the RKIF鈥檚 historic background, assess the RKIF鈥檚 cultural significance and the diverse values it embodies. It will also address the vulnerabilities of its physical fabric and finally outline appropriate conservation policies to preserve what is significant about the RKIF.
More importantly, it will ensure that any intervention carried out will align with the framework of international conservation policies adopted by UNESCO.
Speaking during the workshop, Joseph Kreidi, National Programme Officer for Culture at UNESCO Beirut Office, affirmed that 鈥渢hrough this project, UNESCO is working to encourage local actors to preserve the RKIF, and link it with the goals of sustainable urban development for the city of Tripoli and Lebanon鈥.
鈥淭he Conservation Management Plan, which we aim to produce later this year, is a document that defines the distinctive characteristics of the fair, and establishes the appropriate policies to preserve it, manage it and value it, he added. It will constitute a starting point to bring attention to the importance of this complex and the need to preserve it.鈥
Getty is proud to be supporting this work as one of 77 projects worldwide that are generating important research and planning for twentieth century heritage.
I commend UNESCO and its partners for engaging the local community in this process and for embracing sustainability as they consider how to best preserve Neimeyer鈥檚 brilliant design for the future.
The Rachid Karami International Fair 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鈥檚 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, with over 20 structures, including exhibition spaces, pavilions, theaters, museums, and residences.
It was added to UNESCO鈥檚 World Heritage Tentative List in 2018 and an emergency nomination file was submitted by the State Party to UNESCO鈥檚 World Heritage Center in April 2022.
