Surveying Lebanon: Contextual Readings and Encounters, July 1957 - January 1958

Between July 1957 and January 1958, Doxiadis Associates (DA), made a survey of Lebanon, a new nation state, having gained its independence from the French just fourteen years prior. The survey was part of a year-long contract to prepare the National Housing Project for Lebanon, commissioned by the Government of Lebanon and the United States Operations Mission. Panayis Psomopoulos (1926-1917) an architect, and Emmanuel Theocharopoulos (1926-2014), a civil engineer, were among the dedicated young “ekisticians”, tutored by Doxiadis to ask detailed questions regarding the character of the country they were surveying, its economy, its infrastructure, and most of all, its settlements. Based on archival material, this article discusses how Doxiadis intended to use these surveys to “read” each settlement before coming up with appropriate solutions and recommendations. Unlike other foreign firms working in so-called developing countries at that time, Doxiadis was explicitly against importing ideas from “the West”, and in favor of listening and recording the needs of those who lived there. This approach still has much to teach us today.