Thursday 4 February 2021

blast shield

On the six-month anniversary of the explosion that rocked the city of Beirut, we are directed towards an appreciation over the over-engineered, monolithic grain silo in the harbour, made to withstand not only the bombardment of the wind and sea but also the pressure and possibility of dust explosions, whose eastern-facing cylinders sustained and deflected the brunt of the powerful shock wave, sparing the port and the city even more destruction. The design of this half-a-century old piece of infrastructure stands—though battered—in stark contrast to the mismanagement and cronyism that resulted in the deadly and debilitating detonation and should be preserved as a monument to recovery and reform.