War against architecture, identity and collective memory

This article discusses the phenomenon of violence towards architecture, mainly, the collective memory associated therewith. It addresses the relationship between architecture and identity, and its role in the formation of social, cultural, and political context in the memory of people or community. It also identifies the buildings and areas mostly targeted in the wars of memory and identity, such as heritage buildings which store large collective memory, and places and scenes that have high symbolic value. In order to verify and validate these concepts, a special case study was conducted on the town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, since it embodies the target of military violence during the recent war between Israel and Lebanon (July 2006). It has been selected as having a large collective memory that stretches deep into history as a result of the important role the city played - throughout ages - in various political, economic and cultural fields. The destruction that ruined the ancient down town and the market (Souk) has badly damaged the large city’s memory. Besides, the reconstruction that was completed recently faced physical and legal constraints which reflected negatively on the image of the city and its architecture. The research discusses the reconstruction process and how it harmonized between the preservation of memory and future requirements.