285_Ahmad Baydoun: Escape to an Alternative-Power Archive
Ahmad Baydoun from Beirut, Lebanon: “I am a research based architect that is interested in investigating the precarious conditions of hinterlands. My academic interests have been inspired by the politics of the Middle East, and my own experiences encountering their limitations and challenges. Hinterlands specific to Lebanon often take the form of refugee camps, suburban ‘no go zones’, grounds of non- state militant activity, and any area where state presence is intangible, due to a number of political conditions.
Such areas have unusual urban features, which include the typology of the built-environment, foreign countries’ flags and their symbols, pictures of unfamiliar political-figures, and factors influencing the overall way of life. Moreover, I had questioned the reasons that prevented such areas from falling into what I perceived as anarchy, knowing that state was forbidden to enter. The answer was not in the state discourse that advocated the presence of a singular state-authority. Rather, the answer lay within the reality of the existence of multiple authorities that participate in governing regions within the state of Lebanon. The gap between state-sponsored discourse, versus the physical reality on the ground, led me to continue exploring such discrepancies.”
Website: http://ahmadbeydoun.com/
University: Lebanese American University
Professor(s): Marwan Zouein, Sandra Rishani
Name of Project: EAPA: Escape to an Alternative-Power Archive
Project Description: This study examines the nature of territories in the region of Lebanon that are governed by alternative systems in contrast to state-based structures of governance. In these territories, the state has minimal-to-limited influence on the social, political, and economic activities of such given areas, since certain non-state actors exert a structure of governance based on their political agenda.
This research will focus on the dominating tools and practices applied by non-state actors, their impact on the built environment, and the freedom of the local residents. Such practices include the existence of special economic zones that allow for access to black-market and tax-free goods, the influence of political propaganda enforced through the urban plan, and the establishment of welfare-institutions to provide the residents with ontological services. I propose an apparatus that recombines the identified practices with new qualities by reflecting the mirror images of such practices in a new cultured habitat.
To convey this, I am suggesting a fictional spatio-political project that takes place within the landscape of South Lebanon, that aims to enable the residents with the space and resources needed to resist the manipulation of power by non-state actors. When existing in the premises of such an apparatus, the participants are equipped with the ability to self-orchestrate the mirrored image of non-state actors’ practices, and to perform out of their own free will. The proposed apparatus is composed of different archival bodies that would shelter such acts of resistance. As an urban element, it becomes a sanctuary for the residents of the surrounding landscape, as it would provide a temporary spatial liberation, while existing on its premises.
Instagram Username: @ahmadbeydoun
