The project pays tribute to Antoun Saadeh (1904-1949), a prominent political figure in Lebanese modern history. Social thinker, author and politician, his life and work were devoted to preaching a new political and social order for a reunited Levant. Through an architectural spatial experience, the project attempts to explore the 4th dimension in response to the lasting impact of the man. Hence the chosen name for the memorial: ‘Saadeh and Time’.

Upon visiting the proposed site, once a hillside pine forest where Saadeh spent much of his time, one is struck by the poverty and scarceness of the remaining trees. Instinctively, reforestation became a critical part of the intervention, aiming to reinstate the dramatic qualities of the original site. Following a promenade along a narrow organic path, linking the main road to the memorial, the project begins to unravel as a wall cutting through a cascading pine forest. The accentuated drop of the natural contour lines is in turn echoed by a series of fanning steps leading visitors down to a platform with views to the valley of Choueir, hometown of Saadeh and to an eternal flame positioned on a podium capping the grave of Saadeh and his spouse. The wall however remains the anchor of the project. It is conceived as a statement and a direction, a reference to the ancient history of the Levant. Through its iconography and its inscriptions, a clear reference is made to the Phoenician and Mesopotamian civilizations that have influenced the thoughts and philosophy of Saadeh.