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“We’re trying to fill the gap between the broad stroke of policymaking and the reality of life on the ground,” says Bar-Sinai, who recently returned to Israel after a yearlong fellowship at Harvard University. “Only thinking about these questions from the 30,000 foot high perspective isn’t enough.” — smithsonianmag.com
Previously: The secret to peace in the Middle East, at an architectural expo View full entry
As John Kerry was trying to renew negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority late last week, the "Architactics" exhibition opened at the ZeZeZe Architecture Gallery in Tel Aviv Port. This coincidence provides an injection of realism into what, a week earlier, seemed like a series of interesting mental exercises, but far from the present reality. The aim of the exhibition... is to mobilize tools from the world of design and architecture to help to promote the peace talks. — haaretz.com
"The conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is based mainly on a territorial problem, and therefore architects must play a central role in finding its solution," says architect Yehuda Greenfield-Gilat, who, together with fellow architect Karen Lee Bar-Sinai, founded Saya in... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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. — Gulf News-Weekend Review
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... View full entry
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". — AlJazeera
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... View full entry
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. — marketplace.publicradio.org