A well-known Italian architect will design a new historical museum in downtown Beirut, according to Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Architect Renzo Piano will begin working on the museum, which will cover about 12,000 square-meters, or 130,000 square-feet, reports CLADnews, a speciality architecture news outlet.
Piano has designed a seven-story glass building that will stretch from Martyrs Square to the coastline. He is best known for being part of world-famous designs such as the New York Times building, Kansai International Airport and Aurora Place in Sydney.
The project is funded by the the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development, and will work in collaboration with the Beirut Municipality, Solidere and the Lebanese Council for Development and Reconstruction, Hariri added.
The museum is expected to include archaeological artifacts discovered by United Nations excavations conducted between 1993 and 1997. It will feature artifacts that have passed through Beirut since the Bronze Age, Canaanite, Ottoman and Modern times, a development news outlet reports.
“As we build a modern city, we are keen to preserve the heritage, because preserving identity and history is a solid foundation for building the future,” Hariri added.
Hariri believes the museum is scheduled to take three years to build.
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