Architecture in a Failed State: The Rashid Karami International Fair

Open Air Theatre and Heliport at the Rashid Karami International Fair in Tripoli, Lebanon. Photo credit: Roman Deckert

I recently spoke with Joyce Joumaa about the Rachid Karami International Fair and its relationship to state failure. Joyce is a video artist based in Montreal whose work explores the political phenomenology of language, post-colonial education, and video documentation as a fictional archive. Most recently, Joyce completed a curatorial residency at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA). Her film on the Fair titled "To Remain in the No Longer" and the accompanying exhibition are currently on display at the CCA until May 28. You can view the film's trailer here. 

Designed in 1962, the Rachid Karami International Fair was Lebanon's flagship project for modernization. Spanning 70 hectares, the site includes 15 unfinished structures due to the start of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 and subsequent control of the site by the Syrian army. The Fair has been described as a prominent example of cultural exchange in the field of architecture.

Modernism, Transnationalism, and Failurism

The Rashid Karami International Fair, established in 1958 as an annual international fair in Beirut, holds significant political and historical importance in the realm of transnational modernist architecture. Amado Chalhoub, the fair's director and a member of the Lebanese diaspora, appointed Oscar Niemeyer to design the fairgrounds, marking his first international commission. Upon arriving in Lebanon, Niemeyer redirected his efforts towards developing the fair in Tripoli, the country's second-largest city. This vision aimed to transform Tripoli into an independent metropolitan modern city, rivalling Beirut.

Lebanon boasts a diverse diasporic community with strong ties to their homeland, particularly in Brazil, where one of the largest Lebanese diasporic communities exists. The decision to engage a Brazilian architect like Niemeyer reflects the influence of the Lebanese diaspora and its connections to the Western world. This collaboration provided an unconventional context to experiment with architecture, showcasing the convergence of modern ideologies and global influences. In contrast to the fair's formal architecture, Joyce's research delves into the project itself and its relationship to Lebanon's state failures. This suggests that the fair serves as a lens through which Lebanon's shortcomings and challenges can be examined, shedding light on its socio-political context and complexities. You can read more about Lebanon’s failed bureaucracy in Joyce’s interview with Lebanese architect Mousbah Rajab.

Halted Construction, Imposed Abandonment, and Reappropriation

Despite growing up near the fairgrounds, Joyce lacked direct access to it, leading to a sense of intrigue and alienation. Without the ability to experience a place, memories and attachments cannot be built. This absence of a relationship with the site fuelled Joyce's curiosity and became the driving force behind her project. Joyce's film delves into three distinct moments in the Fair's history. The first, its halted construction, remains an enigma due to the sporadic nature of available archives. However, Joyce's research and interviews with architects who studied the fair shed light on this phase. The second moment, imposed abandonment, is where Joyce places her focus.

She highlights the significance of perceiving the fair's trajectory as a failure rather than mere abandonment, inviting a discussion on how architects navigate the failure of their projects and its impact on their legacy. The third moment, attempted re-appropriation, receives less exploration in Joyce's film, as her aim was to examine the present moment in relation to the fair's failure rather than envision its future functions. You can read more about the role of archiving in Joyce’s interview with the Arab Center for Architecture founder, George Arbid.

Moving Images, Documentation, and Preservation

Joyce's exploration of the fair through film reveals the power of the medium in preserving and re-imagining a place. However, she encountered challenges in accessing archives and gathering information but managed to find valuable visual materials, including newsreel footage from the Civil War era. These materials depicted the fair occupied by the military, shedding light on its interrupted construction and abandonment during the turbulent years of the war.

Instead of merely focusing on the fair's abandonment, Joyce emphasizes the importance of examining its failure. She critiques the positivist approach in architecture that often prioritizes progress and overlooks discussions of failure. By questioning architect Oscar Niemeyer's omission of the fair's failure from his memoirs and interviews, Joyce delves into how architects navigate the legacy of unsuccessful projects. She also explores how the city's residents grapple with the fair's failure and its connection to larger socio-political forces.

Joyce employs a juxtaposition of archival materials, interviews, and monologues to highlight the contrasts between the fair and the city of Tripoli. Through the use of 16mm and digital film, she creates a visual narrative that echoes the fair's construction period while drawing attention to the present moment and Lebanon's ongoing economic and political crises. Rather than speculating on the fair's re-appropriation, Joyce focuses on its failure and its resonance with the cyclical nature of crises in Lebanon's political history.

Earlier this year, the Fair was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage in Danger List. Efforts are being made to preserve and redevelop the Fair. It seems like every so often we see a proposal - some of which are quite radical. The renovation of the Niemeyer Guest House, now serving as an integrated design platform, presents a moderate and sensitive approach to intervening on the Fairgrounds. By contrast, MDDM proposes a subterranean business park that is set to reinvigorate the Fair. For Joyce, what is crucial is a participatory process that engages with Tripoli’s citizens.

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This article is based on an episode of "Talking Architecture," a podcast on architecture, buildings, and the stories they tell. You can listen to the full episode in the player below.