URBAN HIVES V.01 — Nathalie Harb

NATHALIE HARB

URBAN HIVES V.01

Year 2018
Beirut Design Week

As large green areas in cities become increasingly sparse, even smaller public and private gardens are disappearing. The city’s inadequate public transportation system forces people to rely on cars, prompting landowners to convert green spaces into parking lots. Urban Hives seeks to reintroduce urban gardens into parking lots, potentially expanding to any hospitable hard-surfaced public spaces.

Urban Hives is designed as a modular structure that elevates above two parked cars. The modules can be multiplied or reduced to fit different sites and are easily assembled and disassembled for maximum flexibility. This allows parking lots to retain their commercial function while simultaneously transforming into spaces for communal gardening and urban food production.

Beyond providing a much-needed green refuge in increasingly overbuilt environments, Urban Hives contributes to urban sustainability by addressing local environmental challenges such as air pollution, the urban heat island effect, and stormwater runoff. By promoting local food production, it further reduces reliance on long-distance food transportation, fostering more resilient cities. Urban Hives also encourages social engagement by bringing communities together in a shared activity and fostering a collective, communal commitment to preserving and maintaining public green spaces—an essential element of regenerative practices urban life.

Urban Hives V.02

Silent Room V.01

Concept and Design: Nathalie Harb

Architecture: Lea Keyrouz

Construction: Wood Factory

Permaculture Consultant: Compost Baladi

Visual Communication: Joseph Kai

Photography: Marco Pinarelli

With the support of the American University of Beirut Neighborhood Initiative

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