Beit Beirut

Beit Beirut is a Museum project located in the heart of Beirut at what used to be known as the green line separating Muslim from Christian communities during the civil war. The Museum is hosted in an early 19th century building, called Barakat Building, currently under renovation due to the damage caused by the civil war. The project started in the mid-90s with a campaign by architect Mona el-Hallak, successfully saving the building from demolition and convincing the municipality to expropriate it. The objective of the Museum is to preserve and present the history of the capital Beirut and the legacy of the civil war. It will be divided into two parts, one is structurally renovated, while the outer surface war-damage (i.e. bullet and shelling holes) are preserved.The house is totally renovated from the inside and the outside, and will be home for a museum and a facility for archiving research and studies on the city of Beirut.