Across a period of multiple crises and a structurally instable government, amongst other things, there has been a strong national decline in cultural activity, production, and presence in the city of Beirut. With this, national identity is faltering, and citizens begin to give up on their home nation. Who can is emigrating, and the rest lay abandoned and discouraged in an increasingly privatized and unwelcoming environment. What role can culture play in the complex transitions cities are currently going through? What aspects can be combined in order to suggest architecture appropriate for a scenario of hardships, which also strengthens national identity and the image of the city? Ultimately, how can a building complex informed by cultural production contribute to the narration and revival of cultural activity? The task at hand is the design of a productive building which revolves around a culturally relevant produce and manages to evoke the social rituals and greater historic context which go with it. This should strengthen and reinstate pride towards local produce, reform ties to the country and its rich lands, and also support the citizens and the complex urban life which surround it. The design of an urban winery and arak distillery shall be the assignment utilized as means of researching and exploring this challenge.

The plan to construct the Federal Ministry of digital Affairs was conceived in response to the increased focus on the digitalisation of Germany and its government. Historically, a new German cabinet has often formed a new ministry in response to current issues. The new Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs aims to represent the aforementioned ambition to spark and represent digital innovation. The key ingredients to design this new building were primarily determined through site visits and online archival research. This was, the appropriate program, location and stakeholders were found. The program is based on existing ministries, with adjustment for digital processes occurring inside and overall a more transparent arrangement. The location is Schiffbauerdamm due to its contextual links and the stakeholders included government parties, the city and those in the immediate vicinity. The final design proved to be an extroverted building that angers with its surroundings and complements the existing context.

“The education system in Lebanon is at risk of collapse, with devastating consequences for children...” (Human Rights Watch, 2021) The Lebanese government has been unable to provide basic education to at least 700.000 children. This is about one third of all children that should have access to education. On a surface level, this problem seems to be caused by the way the Lebanese government has been dealing with recent issues such as the port explosion, covid-19 and the countries debt causing hyperinflation. When looking deeper in the education system of Lebanon, it becomes clear that there is a systematic lack of funding from the government for public schools. A review of the education in Lebanon from 2017 writes that 70% of all enrolled students go to private schools. This is a big financial burden on families.1 This review also describes how only 2,45% of GDP is spent by the government on public education. In contrast, the average spending on education by European countries is 4,0% of the GDP. The research that will be conducted will evaluate the possibilities public school architecture could have in the suburbs of Beirut if provided with the right amount of funding. Also, in what way it could benefit the public as a whole. The research question of this paper is : How to design a new public school in a way that it becomes a public asset?