This article summarizes an academic project prepared by Ghalia Mohammad Nour El Din for a postgraduate diploma in architecture at the Institute of Fine Arts, Lebanese University, during the 2004–2005 academic year. The study uses Machghara’s historic tanneries quarter to examine the town’s industrial past and to propose a model that combines heritage preservation with contemporary economic development.
The study links the rise of tanning in Machghara to the town’s abundant water, its mineral composition, the availability of hides, and accumulated craft knowledge. According to the report, Fares Haboush moved a tannery from Sidon to Machghara in 1880. The industry then expanded over subsequent decades, including during the First World War, and by the late 1920s some tanneries were introducing mechanized equipment while Machghara leather was reaching markets beyond Lebanon.
The report also traces the gradual weakening of the sector during the second half of the twentieth century. Traditional markets contracted, export conditions changed, and competition increased. It states that Machghara once had roughly 43 tanneries, but their number steadily declined until the last tannery cited in the study closed in 2000. The town consequently lost an activity that had supported a large number of local families.
The consequences described in the study were not only economic. The decline of tanning was associated with unemployment, migration, and the erosion of specialized craft knowledge. The proposed rehabilitation project therefore treats tanning not simply as an industry to be restarted, but as part of Machghara’s social memory and local identity.
The proposed site lies in the lower quarter of Machghara, within the area historically associated with the tanneries and near Nahr al-Shita. The architectural concept preserves older tannery structures as evidence of the town’s industrial history while introducing modern facilities designed for contemporary production. The project is divided into two complementary parts: a heritage section centered on traditional vegetable tanning and leather crafts, and a modern section using updated machinery and production methods.
Environmental treatment is a central part of the proposal. Wastewater and chemical residues from older tanning practices had contributed to pollution in local waterways. The study therefore incorporates wastewater treatment and cleaner processing methods intended to protect Nahr al-Shita and the wider Litani water system. In this sense, the modernization of tanning is presented as both an industrial and an environmental challenge.
The report estimates that the modern component could provide work for about 200 people, while the heritage component would preserve traditional techniques and support workshops for leather crafts. The objective is broader than reopening a former industry: it is to turn the tanneries quarter into a place where production, skilled work, industrial memory, and architectural heritage can coexist.
The continuing value of the study lies in the question it raises for Machghara today: how can an important industrial heritage be preserved without reducing it to a static memory? The rehabilitation proposal offers an early attempt to connect heritage conservation, local development, manufacturing, and environmental responsibility within one vision for the town.