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Architecture, the city and its scale: Oscar Niemeyer in Tripoli, Lebanon

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 18; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13602365.2013.856931

1466-4410

Adrian Lahoud,

Architecture and Art History Studies

Drawing on a theoretical concept of scalar individuation in which the genesis of scale is understood according to ontological, epistemic and discursive registers, this paper deploys the notion of scale as a problematic in order to open a new space for critical insight into a little-known project by Oscar Niemeyer, the Rachid Karame Fair and Exposition site in Tripoli, Lebanon. It argues against the idea of unity, in terms of authorship and reception, put forward by proponents and critics of modernism. It demonstrates the way different and often paradoxical forms of scalar rationality can co-exist within a single project. Moreover, the individuation of specific scalar problems within the project are located within an historical context that reveals the inherently contingent nature of architectural claims with respect to the political.