UNRWA + NBRC: Refugee Camp

A joint effort by an international agency and a national comission, the reconstruction of the Nahr el-Bared camp in Lebanon gives 27,000 refugees a place to live, and was shortlisted for the 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

The reconstruction of Nahr el-Bared Refugee Camp by the United Nations Relief & Works Agency (UNRWA) in collaboration with the Nahr el-Bared Reconstruction Commission for Civil Action and Studies (NBRC), completed in 2011, has been shortlisted for the 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The project undertook the reconstruction of a 27,000 refugee camp, which had been almost fully destroyed during the 2007 war, and involved a planning effort with the entire community, followed by a series of eight construction phases. Limited land and the need of recreating physical and social fabrics were primary considerations.

Established in 1948, the camp followed the extended-family pattern and building typology of the refugees’ villages. In a layout where roads provided light and ventilation, the goal was to increase non-built areas from 11% to 35%: it was achieved by giving each building an independent structural system allowing for vertical expansion up to four floors on a reduced footprint.

On top: Aerial photo of Sasa'a neighbourhood with the camp's adjacent areas. Photo by Abdelnaser Ayi, AKAA. Above: Nahr el-Bared Refugee Camp before the reconstruction. Photo courtesy of the architects, AKAA

Nahr el-Bared Refugee Camp
Location: Tripoli, Lebanon
Architect: United Nations Relief & Works Agency (UNRWA), Nahr el-Bared Reconstruction Commission for Civil Action and Studies (NBRC)
Client: United Nations Relief & Works Agency (UNRWA), Beirut, Lebanon
Completion: 2011
Site size: 190,000 square metres

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UNRWA + NBRC: Refugee Camp

A joint effort by an international agency and a national comission, the reconstruction of the Nahr el-Bared camp in Lebanon gives 27,000 refugees a place to live, and was shortlisted for the 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

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