Conceived during Lebanon’s optimistic 1960s, the Permanent International Fair of Tripoli - known as the Maraad - was designed by the modernist Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer as a symbol of national unity and modernity. Intended as a public civic space that would bring Tripoli onto a par with Beirut, the project embodied a belief in progress that was soon overtaken by conflict.

The fair was never completed. Civil war, military occupation, and long periods of neglect left the site largely closed and unused. I photographed the Maraad while working in Beirut for UNHCR. At the time, parts of the main exhibition hall were being used by the UN to register Syrian refugees, adding another layer to a site shaped by interrupted plans and ongoing displacement.