BEIRUT: The grave of late former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Downtown Beirut will be revamped by top architects to become a contemplative mausoleum. The works that already started last year are expected to wrap up over the course of 2015.
The Rafik Hariri Mausoleum in the heart of Beirut will be flanked by the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque and the Martyrs’ statue. The project’s mastermind, renowned French architect Marc Barani, sought a refined and minimalist square-shaped edifice that would pay homage to the notion of void, seeing that Hariri’s killing has left a significant void on the Lebanese political scene.
Barani had visited the Hariri grave in the fall of 2005, a few months after the politician’s assassination and was deeply touched by the words of the premiere’s youngest son Fahd, who compared his father to a mountain.
In a bid to pay homage to Lebanon’s most prominent post-Civil War politician, Barani wanted the monument to work as a link between the sky and the earth. The architect also played on the notion of movement, choosing bulky blocks of limestone to make up the mausoleum.
One of Barani’s main objectives was to create layers and perspectives in order to draw the attention of visitors to Beirut’s cultural heritage, the preservation of which Hariri contributed to in the aftermath of the devastating Civil War that reduced the Lebanese capital’s Downtown district to rubble.
Barani collaborated on the project with architects Milena Cestra and Rachid Karam.
In addition to Hariri and the seven bodyguards that perished with him at the Valentine’s Day bombing 10 years ago, the mausoleum comprises the graves of top intelligence officer Wissam al-Hasan and his bodyguard, and former minister Mohammad Chatah and his bodyguard.
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