Gray Noise

2019

 The Rachid Karame International Fair (RKIF) is an architectural gem, tucked away but certainly not unknown. People drive to Tripoli throughout the year to walk around and photograph the extraordinary concrete structures. An unfinished project by Brazilian modernist Oscar Niemeyer, the fair was designed in 1963 and abandoned in 1975 with the start of the Lebanese civil war. Today, its monumental concrete follies stand as landmarks, only occasionally housing events such as festivals and performances.

Designed during Lebanon’s golden age--the 60s--RKIF’s ambition, scale, and modernity are representative of the time. Today it stands as an abandoned, naked concrete structure, with no real effort placed towards its revitalization. Plans to revive the expansive site surface frequently, and fade away with matching regularity. Recent attempts, including a competition initiated by the Tripoli Special Economic Zone for a Knowledge and Innovation Center, leave critical questions unaddressed. The viability of programming such as a ‘business and technology park,’ the fetishization of the architecture’s state of decay, and the question of public access are all matters crucial to any discussion regarding the plot.

Gray Noise, a speculative narrative in which Niemeyer’s iconic structures come to life, brings these issues to the forefront to instigate a public discussion. The project illustrates the follies rescuing themselves from neglect as they come together to form a hybrid creature that eventually walks away from the site, leaving only a glitching memory of what once was. Presented as a storyboard, former glory, present intrigue and future reminiscence are then refuted as one, and an independent novel self emerges only to disappear once more.