As a group of young architects, we were prompted to believe that we were to have a role to play in the reconstruction of our city. However, we were “denied” the right to our practice. That is how we became activists in Beirut. We were driven to address places, languages, and objects whose materiality seemed to escape one’s common discourse. Rather than defining or framing the scope, we focused on urban contentions lived by every citizen on a day-to-day basis; looking at how simple gestures and punctual interventions can trigger debates and question socio-political measures.
Rana Haddad, an AA graduate, acquired the title of activist as she practiced architecture and design in the post war conflicting city of Beirut. Starting In 1997 her research workshop was setup with her practice with the aim of questioning the ability of objects and places to become means of political expression in Beirut. Soon after, these quests turned into installation works puncturing the city and grabbing people’s attention locally and internationally. With her students and colleagues, Rana Haddad has produced several public installations and performances in Beirut, Mantes la Jolie, Bern, Geneva, Algiers, Italy, and lately in New Zealand. She has lectured and (given workshops) internationally in many art and architecture institutions that includes Urbandrift, Berlin, the Geneva School of Fine Arts and Design, by Studio Kajima at ETH University, Zurich and most recently in Copenhagen University. She is currently an assistant professor at the American University of Beirut.