The studio was headed by Studio Madane an in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, the Lebanese American University, and Public Works Studio.

The Beirut Port Studio was conceived in the aftermath of the August 4, 2020 explosion, as a collaborative project proposed by Dr Gouverneur from University of Pennsylvania to Nader Akoum, founder of Studio Madane. The framework: an initiative to develop tools and interventions for restoring underutilized open and public spaces around the port, sustainably supporting the communities most affected by the explosion, and engaging residents directly in shaping the recovery of their own neighborhoods.

Naturally, the first time was to transform this into a multi-institutional initiative, which is when the other partners were onboarded.

The project's organizing concept was custodianship. As Professor David Gouvernor, who led the project at the University of Pennsylvania, framed it to Studio Madane:

       "The goal is to keep the areas from informal occupation, to avoid losing the public realm. The trick here is to select the appropriate 'custodians' that will keep an eye on the land until the community clearly identifies them as public places and starts defending them on its own. For this idea to be successful, the custodians should be institutions, community organizations, or even individuals that the community trusts. They should also be able to give the best uses to these 'open spaces,' providing a sense of cultural attachment, from the earliest phases of occupation."

After several rounds of planning conversations, the Studio has been delayed until further notice. The framework remains on file, a record of the kind of post-crisis institutional collaboration the studio is prepared to enter, alongside top-tier academic institutions and established civic research practices.