Archinect - News

"swing" by JerusaLAB Architecture

2013-05-01T13:44:00-04:00

Israeli practice JerusaLAB Architecture has sent us a tiny but mighty project titled simply, swing: a seesaw penetrating the massive concrete border fence between Israel and Palestine.

"The project claims to portray the possibility for peaceful acts in the Israeli Palestinian environment where face to face relationships are absent," designers Elena Mann and Eldar Gantz explain.

"Placing a swing inside a concrete element of the separation wall is an act that requires a blind cooperation and trust. The work suggest a positive romantic view on a conflictual relationship manifested in concrete borderline disorder."

Project Credits:

Architects: Elena Mann & Eldar Gantz
JerusaLAB Architecture, Jerusalem

Elena Mann is an interdisciplinary designer based in London. Eldar Gantz is an architect/artist based in Jerusalem.

Editor's Picks #302

2013-02-13T14:44:00-05:00

The Three Grand Prize winners and thirteen Special Mentions were released for d3's Unbuilt Visions 2012 competition. The program promotes critical debate about architecture and design by acknowledging excellence in unbuilt projects. The Grand Prize: went to The Emperor's Castle, designed by Thomas Hillier, UK. In response homme_du_jura applauded "I'm very glad to see Thomas Hillier's work recognized...A beautiful piece!"

For the latest Student Works: feature, Archinect published New Horizons Iceland Expedition, which was a compendium of results from a trip The Bartlett School of Architecture Unit 3, wherein "Twelve 2nd and 3rd year students designed, built and tested a series of shelter/surveying devices (they were told to make “sure it fits in the check-in luggage) to research and charted varied aspects of Iceland”.

News

The Three Grand Prize winners and thirteen Special Mentions were released for d3's Unbuilt Visions 2012 competition. The program promotes critical debate about architecture and design by acknowledging excellence in unbuilt projects. The Grand Prize: went to The Emperor's Castle, designed by Thomas Hillier, UK. In response homme_du_jura applauded "I'm very glad to see Thomas Hillier's work recognized. He submitted this piece for another competition a few years ago and was duly recognized, even as it went a bit beyond the competition's established criteria. A beautiful p...

Preserving Palestine’s architectural heritage

2013-01-03T19:55:00-05:00

Salameh is heading the “Adh Dhariyeh” project, in the south of Hebron, where he began with single-building restoration and has progressed to a community centre and two schools...“Dhariyeh is one of 50 historical sites whose renovation Riwaq has undertaken and which constitute 50 per cent of the architectural heritage of Palestine.” Salameh says. “There are almost 900 old buildings and the project is funded by the Arab Fund in Kuwait.

Rafique Gangat writes about Riwaq, a Palestinian non-profit organisation established in 1991 in Ramallah, by a group of architects, many trained in the West. Riwaq aims to safeguard Palestinian heritage through a number of projects including; the establishment of a National Register of Historic Buildings, various publications, an on-line exhibition of Palestinian tiles and their 50 Villages Project. Following the completion in 2007 of a comprehensive architectural survey of Palestine, Riwaq decided to focus their efforts towards the restoration and rehabilitation of 50 villages, which contain 50% of all historic buildings, in rural areas of the West Bank and Gaza.

HT Bryan Finoki of subtopes

Infographic: Palestinian homes demolished

2012-08-30T14:13:00-04:00

Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) argues that, seen in their totality since 1967, these home demolitions amount to an intentional "policy of displacement".

As all the hoopla winds down on Venice Biennale about social movement/architecture/urban design and dance parties, another year passes without doing anything about the eradication of Palestinian homes in occupied territories. Spontaneous Interventions..? Nah. It is all systematic...

In Gaza, real estate is at a premium

2011-07-08T18:10:36-04:00

If you believe the adage about real estate -- that bit about the three most important things being location, location, location -- then one would think there are few places worse to own a home than the Gaza strip. [...] And yet, home prices are up sharply.