By Collective for Architecture Lebanon

This publication is the legacy of The Land Remembers, the Lebanese Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The pavilion is a functional ministry – The Ministry of Land Intelligens – dedicated to healing the land from ecocide and to building a dynamic archive of this intentional destruction through this publication. It asserts that, before architecture, there is land and that architects must take on a more active role in our engagement with the natural environment.

This box is a vessel of living documents that collects research, testimonies, and strategies for healing, recounting the richness of land intelligens as well as the challenges it has endured. It is an attempt to respond to the following question: how can we heal the land to build for future generations? 

The publication is designed for future generations to engage with, learn from, and build upon. It includes informational graphics, foldout maps, an illustrated poster, a botanical drawing, a leporello, and a book of essays, interviews, and creative writing. The layers of content engage with themes of destruction, regeneration, and coexistence to reflect on the intertwined nature of architecture and the environment, uncovering the roots of our relationship with the land. Lebanon has a rich history when it comes to its inhabitants’ coexistence with nature. And in moments of crisis, reasserting the basis of this relationship will allow the nation to collectively rebuild an alternative future.

Lebanon’s story is a microcosm of a larger global struggle. The Land Remembers is a reminder that the earth holds both memory and vital resources. To safeguard our future, we must urgently redefine our relationship with the land.