Knowledge and Innovation Center

The International Architectural Design Competition for the Knowledge and Innovation Center in Tripoli, Lebanon was managed by the Lebanese Federation of Engineers and Architects on behalf of the Tripoli Special Economic Zone and the Government of the Republic of Lebanon.

The proposed construction site is located within the Rachid Karami International Fair, designed by renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in the 1960s. The Knowledge and Innovation Centre will be a business and technology park that accommodates and fosters the growth of entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs in the city of Tripoli and the surrounding region.

View competition launch press release

Keywords : Heritage

Competition results

1st prize-MDDM Architects

2nd prize-Dagher Hanna

3rd prize- Arquivo Architects

Theme and objectives

The competition’s goal is to become an inclusive collaborative platform attracting companies from a wide variety of sectors.

Competition participants were required to provide an urban and architectural concept for the Knowledge and Innovation Center that preserves and integrates the existing modern heritage buildings.

Jury Members

Raya Al Hassan, Minister of Interior, Former Chairperson TSEZ, Lebanon
Jad Tabet, Head, Lebanese Federation of Engineers and Architects, Beirut, Lebanon
Bassam Ziadeh, Head, Order of Engineers and Architect, Tripoli, Lebanon
George Kunihiro, Architect, T-Life Environmental Lab, Past President ARCASIA, Japan (UIA representative)
Antonio Raffaele Riverso, Former UIA Region I Vice President, Italy (UMAR Representative)
Francesco Bandarin, Former Director of World Heritage Centre and Former Assistant Director General for Culture at UNESCO, Italy
Ana Tostoes, Chair, Docomomo International, Portugal
Fares Dahdah, Director of the Humanities Research Center at Rice University, member of Fundação Oscar Niemeyer Board, USA
Suha Ozkan, Former Secretary General of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Turkey

Alternate jurors

Amale Andraos, Dean, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, USA, and advisor to the Chairperson
Gustavo Utrabo, Architect, Aleph Zero, Brazil

Eligibility

Architecture and Urban Design firms, who are permitted to practice in their respective countries, are eligible to participate in the competition, pending the following two conditions: