Minjara project in Tripoli is rewarded by the Aga Khan Foundation for beautiful architecture
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2022 was announced on the 31th October at the Royal Opera House Muscat (Sultanate of Oman), and the renovation of Lebanon’s Niemeyer Guest House, hosting the Minjara project- is one of the six outstanding winners. The Guest House located in the Rachid Karameh International Fair of Tripoli was rewarded for its beauty and the amazing collaborative work done by the different partners.
Minjara – launched in 2017- has provided a working space for Tripoli based carpenters, in addition to offering services to help develop their skills and find new clients in Lebanon, Europe and the GCC. The project was financed by the Delegation of the European Union in Lebanon and implemented by Expertise France with the partnership of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Tripoli, the Rachid Karame International Fair, Terea, Rene Moawad Foundation. Beyrouth-based East Architecture Studio was the creative force behind this beautiful renovation, led by architects Nicolas Fayad and Charles Kettaneh. Expertise France, operating under an EU Private Sector Development grant, coordinated all the different aspects of the renovation from initiation to delivery.
A recognition of the work provided for the renovation of the building
Originally, this gigantic complex was intended to become an international fair that would bring hope, progress, and an economic renaissance to the north of the country. It was in the early 1960's, a period commonly associated with Lebanon's golden age, that President Fouad Chehab sought to forge a modern identity for the country. The Fair, which he entrusted to the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, was to be a strong symbol of this.
The outbreak of war in 1975, when the buildings were practically finished, dealt it a fatal blow and nothing has ever really been done to complete its construction or to restore its buildings.
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s jury cited the renovation as an “inspiring tale of architecture’s capacity for repair, at a time of dizzying, entangled crisis around the world, and in Lebanon in particular, as the country faces unprecedented political, socio-economic and environmental collapse”.
Vidéo Empowering Tripoli's carpenters: the story behind Minjara :
Expertise France’s program Team Leader at the time of the renovation, Julien Schmitt, expressed that “This award is a great achievement and the recognition of the quality and dedication of an amazing collective initiative, aiming at improving the connection between the International Fair and the socio-economic force of the carpenters of Tripoli as well as to promote their beautiful work. On behalf of Expertise France, I thank all our partners, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Aga Khan Development Network, and the Master Jury for their acknowledgment. We hope that it will be an inspiration for continuing the renovation and support to the Rachid Karamé International Fair in the great city of Tripoli”.
Architect Nicolas Fayad said “We would like to thank the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, The Aga Khan Development Network and the Master Jury of this year’s cycle for shedding light on the urgency to preserve our modern heritage. We truly hope that this recognition will instigate a possible future for the Fair, and set an example for inspiring, reversible and tangible renovation processes.”
Minjara: an innovative place for the wood industry in Tripoli, Lebanon
The Lebanese economy is affected by regional instability and a major migration crisis related to the Syrian conflict. However, the private sector remains dynamic and microenterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the development of the local economic fabric.
The Minjara project is very impactful for carpenters. It is an innovative project because we are working with machines that are rare in Lebanon and complete manufacturing lines."
Ali Boksmati, machine maintenance manager who has been present since the opening of Minjara. 
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To help these structures address the problems of competitiveness they face, the European Union in Lebanon and Expertise France have focused on developing synergies between actors in the same sector. The objective is to optimize costs, pool strategic functions, benefit from shared services, develop new markets and facilitate access to financing.
This is how the Private Sector Development Programme (PSD-P) in Lebanon came about in 2016.
It was supposed to allow Tripoli, which is historically the center of carpentry in Lebanon and has a deep-water port allowing the import of wood and export of manufactured products, to regain momentum in this field.
Minjara is a 1,500m2 platform that aims to contribute to Lebanon’s economic development by empowering Tripoli’s long-established carpenters and uniting them with architects, designers and owners of furniture showrooms from Lebanon and the world in order to revive the wood industry in the region.
Nowadays Minjara continues to provide support to Tripoli’s carpenters, fulfilling the EU’s objectives to help the economic growth of one of the oldest cities in the Mediterranean.