Lebanon is a country with a complex multitude of historical events, a conflicting built environment and a wide range of specimen architectural projects and memorial structures that only partially reflected the intricate complexity of the country. Recently Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, has undergone several stages of profound transformations and urban expansions between 1840 and 1920, after the civil war (1975-1990) which was generated by many intricate dimensions, a vast rural to urban migration brought to Beirut, a numerous population in search of job opportunities. During the reconstruction, Beirut faced unprecedented economic growth and started to be recognized as an emerging city subjected to all the influences of the world globalization. Recently an evident conflict started to afflict the direction of the country development due to the urgent need to start recognizing the values of the neglected heritage that have been affected by massive demolition and abandonment. The debate between the construction of a contemporary global city with a post-modern identity, represented by innovative architecture and the need to preserve the national architecture and landscape, have generated numerous contrasting opinion in the cultural scene. In the debate between innovation and tradition, this article presents a comparative analysis of two reconstruction projects recently concluded in Lebanon. The aim is to highlight some fundamental problems that need to be considered to enhance processes that affect the urban development of the country.