When it comes to buildings, French architect Jean Nouvel has said that he is convinced one cannot separate history and modernity. Commenting on historical sites he said: "We have to make the greatest effort in places where people have lived and built considerably over time." Now that a large part of Solidere's (Lebanese Company for the Development and Reconstruction of the Beirut Central District) infrastructure and restoration projects in the Beirut Central District (BCD) are finished or well under way, other areas in the process of being redeveloped will hopefully benefit from the attention of international and local architects. This collaboration is also the beginning of an urban process that will transform the Beirut post-war skyline. Jean Nouvel, whose international reputation was established in 1987 with his striking Institut du Monde Arabe building in Paris, is undoubtedly the biggest name to come to Beirut yet, notwithstanding New York-based Steven Holl.
