There are many talks whether or not the Dome is staying, with the Beirut Gate Project being underway. The dome is more than just an intriguing childhood memory, it's a movie theater, part of the modernism movement in Lebanon and was originally designed by Lebanese architect Joseph Philippe Karam in 1965 as part of a complex of towers for shopping and entertainment. The civil war halted the plans and what remained was an orphan egg that withstood the test of time and war. Unfortunately it seems it will not withstand the test of rapid Dubai-zation of Lebanon.
Never has anybody passed by this structure without inquiring about it, it's so unique, it's a national treasure, it's reminiscent of avant-garde 60's Beirut (the Paris of the middle east) and a reminder of the war and its ugliness. Here's hoping the Dome stays!
--Hopes And Doubts Exhibition, December 2008, The Dome, Beirut.
