GM Architects will present the Museum of Civilizations' exhibition at Metropolitan Art Society Gallery, Beirut, from 24 March to 24 April.

Since its unveiling in the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2014, this project has attracted a number of proposals from backers for a potential creation.

Today, GM Architects wants to present this utopic project to Lebanese people, half-way between an archeological site and an exhibition space.

Through this project, the founder Galal Mahmoud aims to express Lebanon’s rich history, showcasing the genetic make-up of a profoundly multicultural country.

“Our ‘Museum of Civilizations’ project is sited on Martyrs’ Square in the heart of Beirut, and built upon a site sunk deep into the successive strata of the civilizations that underlie Beirut, a city which has been, in turn, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and French”. Galal Mahmoud

This museum offers a chance to consider what lies at the very heart of the architect’s work, the ability to grasp the historical foundations of a people and to facilitate the creation of a harmonious and ordered society through architectural discourse.

This project is the winner of the Cultural Regeneration category of the 2015 Architectural Review MIPIM Futur e Project s Awards. The ceremony took place in Cannes on Wednesday, 11 March.

GALAL MAHMOUD ARCHITECTS
AN APPROACH CENTERED AROUND "CONTEXTUAL IMMERSION"

Founded in 1996 by French-Lebanese architect Galal Mahmoud, GM Architects employs 40 professionals including architects and interior designers with offices in Beirut and Abu Dhabi.

Its partners include Randa Chahine, Anwar Hajj and Elie Waked. The firm’s completed projects can be seen in France, Northern Africa, the Middle East and throughout the Mediterranean region.

Contextual immersion lies at the heart of GM Architects’ way of thinking. Galal Mahmoud steeps himself in the geographical, historical and cultural environment of each project.