Architect/Urban Design & Planning Consultant

Result of Service Upon completion of the consultancy, the incumbent is expected to thoroughly review and validate the preliminary design and produce a full set of technical documents to be used for tendering purposes, respecting all national and international standards and in close coordination with national governmental authorities, AICS, UNESCO and affected communities.

Work Location Beirut, Lebanon

Expected duration 5 months

Duties and Responsibilities Organizational setting UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. It is the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system.

Background On 4 August 2020, a massive explosion at the Port of Beirut (PoB) devastated the city, killing at least 200 people, wounding more than 6,000 and displacing around 300,000 individuals. The explosion caused widespread destruction to homes, businesses, and infrastructure, and disrupted economic activity. In the immediate aftermath of the blast, a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) was undertaken to estimate the impact of the disaster on the population, changes in economic flows, physical assets, infrastructure, and service delivery in Beirut. Total damages were estimated to be between USD 3.8–4.6 billion, while losses amounted to USD 2.9–3.5 billion, with the housing and culture sectors being the most severely affected. About 50 per cent of the damaged municipal infrastructure was related to access and mobility – such as roads, bridges and related assets – which is critical for the community’s living conditions and livelihoods.

Many local parks, playgrounds, public squares and other communal facilities and buildings were damaged by the explosion, and still are significantly affected. Accordingly, and as part of UN-Habitat Lebanon Country Programme’s continued efforts to respond to the longer-term recovery and reconstruction of the city, an Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) funded project “Ensuring safe public spaces and adequate housing in Beirut City” aims at facilitating the urban recovery of Beirut through building back better (BBB) in a greener and more sustainable manner. The project consists of two components: (1) that will ensure the rehabilitation of several residential buildings/damaged households and (2) the full design of landmark public space of 10,000 m2 at the rail station of Mar Mikhael and rehabilitation and upgrading of the area foreseen as a green space in Beirut.

The project will complement existing projects that were implemented by different stakeholders in Beirut – including UN-Habitat – to maximize the impact of urban recovery efforts, on the affected geographical location, which is of considerable importance for the economic recovery not only of the city, but of the country as a whole.

Concerning the first component on housing, the project activities will focus on neighbourhoods affected by the explosion, such as Gemmayzeh, Mar Mikhael and Karantina. To identify end beneficiaries for this component on housing rehabilitation, the project team will develop a methodology and selection criteria in collaboration with AICS to select potential residential buildings, relying on existing data to identify vulnerable beneficiaries (socio-economic status, level of damage of buildings etc.), coupled with field work to validate data, as well as consultations, one-on-one meetings, and phone calls.

For the second component, the landmark public space identified, is the Beirut Railway Station (also referred to as Mar Mikhael Train Station) which is affiliated to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Directorate General of Railways and Public Transport (DGRPT). This component, in addition to re-creating an inclusive, safe and sustainable public space, will also aim to provide the space for a multi-functional cultural hub, that allows for a public space for social interaction, cultural experience and creativity. This project will be implemented in close coordination with concerned government institutions, specifically with the Municipality of Beirut (MoB), the Governor of Beirut (GoB), the Directorate General of Antiquities (DGA) and the DGRPT and with AICS. For this component, in addition to existing studies and designs, extensive consultations with all stakeholders, including adjacent communities will be undertaken through a bottom-up and participatory approach – to agree on the proposed design and scope of interventions.

The overall objective of the project is to rehabilitate and enhance housing conditions of vulnerable populations groups in close vicinity of the Beirut Port explosion epicentre and increase access to a safe and inclusive public space in Beirut for all communities, particularly those impacted by the Beirut port explosion, through applying a BBB approach.

UN-Habitat aims to achieve the following two main outcomes: Outcome 1: Nearly 500 individuals (100 families) in areas affected by the explosion have better access to safe and adequate housing.

Outcome 2: At least 30,000 persons per month, from the affected and surrounding communities, will have access to a safe and inclusive public space through the rehabilitation of the existing non-functional Mar Mikhael train station.

These Terms of Reference (ToR) are developed to recruit an Architect/Urban Design & Planning Individual Consultant for the services under Outcome 2.

The selected Individual Consultant should be familiar with the city’s profile and well-versed in the station’s history and architecture, to review and provide valid input to the proposed design and liaise with relevant local and national authorities.

Reporting line The Architect/Urban Design & Planning Consultant will work under the supervision of the UN-Habitat Lebanon Urban Planning and Design Unit Manager and under the overall direction of the Head of Country Programme.

The consultant will also need to coordinate/work alongside a Technical Committee (TC) that will be established for this project. This committee will consist of entities from relevant official bodies (i.e., DGA, DGRPT, AICS, UN-Habitat, UNESCO etc.) whose mission will be to provide technical and strategic support, input, and guidance during the consultancy phases.

Duties and responsibilities Working closely with the UN-Habitat Lebanon Urban Planning and Design Unit team, and in close coordination with AICS throughout the process, and relying on existing produced topographic and photogrammetric surveys for the allocated area (buildings, structures, trees, walls, infrastructure, land cover, etc.), the candidate will be responsible for carrying out the following functions and tasks:

- Evaluate and update the preliminary designs initially produced by a team of consultants for the Beirut Train Station (Annex 1). This will be done in close collaboration with AICS and relevant public authorities and UNESCO as applicable, ensuring that the cultural heritage value of applicable buildings is preserved; the public space is safe, inclusive and complements existing neighbouring public spaces; and legal construction and permitting aspects/procedures are properly addressed in all phases of the implementation process.

- Produce an underground survey mapping all the features below the surface of the specified area (existing infrastructure, utilities, tunnels, etc.).

- Develop an assessment on the detailed physical conditions of the existing facilities (namely structures, buildings, and trees, etc.) in the specified area — noting that existing risks should also be identified within this assessment (i.e., presence of asbestos, ground and underground pollution, etc.).

- Produce an inception report capturing all legal and operational documents related to the heritage preservation of the buildings within the project’s scope, the history of the location, the importance of public spaces, desk reviews about existing projects in the area, and the different functions of the surrounding neighbourhoods.

- Liaise with the DGRPT, DGA and the MoB and AICS to provide/receive their input to the design ensuring practical solutions to enhance people’s access to the public space and preserve the cultural heritage value of the existing buildings and facilities. These consultations with officials should be documented and well presented to the project team.

- Plan and carry out community meetings and consultations with neighbouring communities, community leaders and key stakeholders, give presentations on the project’s outcomes, collect concerns and suggestions, and make sure to incorporate them in the design.

- Adopt BBB and innovative approaches in the produced design especially for noise reduction, water sensitive urban designs, accessible public space, heritage preservation and other frontier technologies applications.

- Produce a holistic vision for the public space including its roles, use, interaction with surrounding neighbourhoods, and linkages with the city’s wider public spaces.

- Analyse in coordination with UNESCO the use/function of each building (hall, conference, workshop, services, toilets, administration, admission etc.) in order to provide proper access for the visitors / employees (depending on the number of persons accessing each building).

- Define the parking area dedicated to the visitors / employees and the safe and accessible ways to access to the area.

- Consider all service utilities/infrastructure needed for the whole site i.e. the water supply system (reservoirs, pumping station and networks) to each area/building, the drainage and sewage networks with related manholes and/septic tank or potential treatment plan, storm water collection network, electrical network (whether underground or on steel poles), external lighting and safety system, potential renewable energy systems, telephone and data/internet distribution networks, firefighting, evacuation plan; and define the levels and slopes of all external areas to allow a proper drainage within all networks.

- Produce a complete set of tender documents including but not limited to: ToR for the project, drawings, bill of quantities, specifications, phased work plan for the implementation, detailed Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for the implementation of the public space and lastly develop the evaluation criteria for the selection of contractors.

- Undergo the required permitting processes with relevant governmental authorities including environmental authorizations and licensing , among others.

Qualifications/special skills An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in urban/regional planning and design, architecture, civil/environmental engineering, landscape design, development studies or a related field is required. A first level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant experience demonstrating strong skills of project management, public spaces and heritage preservation is required.

Knowledge of/familiarity with the legal framework in Lebanon related to urban planning, land use/zoning, cultural heritage, environment and related matters is required.

Knowledge of AutoCAD, 3D visualization software, Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and Adobe Acrobat is required.

Familiarity with the production of comprehensive reports and publications with the needed graphics and pictures and experience in developing tender documents and conducting environmental assessments and studies is required.

Skills and knowledge in environmental issues, and urban sustainable development are desirable.

Languages Fluency in both oral and written English and Arabic is required

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.