INTER Posed
INTER Posed
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban B.Arch diploma project by Boris Levin Pro-Active Studio 2018-19 The Faculty of Architecture & Town Planning The Technion, Haifa, Israel
TECHNION Israel Institute of Technology
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Tutors: Assoc. Prof. Gabriel Schwarz Dr. Arch. Fatina Abreek-Zubiedat Arch. Tal Israeli Dr. Arch. Ronen Ben-Arie Special thanks to: Avi Cohen Avi Cohen again (!) Prof. Aaron Sprecher Arch. Alon Sohar Amir Tomashov Sarah Amar-Kroin Ziona Eisenstein my friends, family and everybody who helped with the project
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
TABLE OF CONTENTS 04
67
THESIS RESEARCH
DESIGN PROJECT
06
77
08
90
18
105
26
112
Preface
Introduction
Historical Background: Aliyah & Absorption
Absorption Centers: An Institute of Enclosure
‘House of Fun’ + Personal Experience
32
Current Context + Statistics
39
Proposal + The City’s Speech LOCATION
53 Site
58
02 03
Day vs Night + The City Building Plan
Site Analysis + Mapping
Intervention
Sustainable Market: New Market Stalls
Integrative Approach for Housing
Circulation + Façade
123
Final Word
124
Bibliography
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
PREFACE Interaction Intercultural Intervention International Intersection Intermediary Interposed Interdisciplinary Interchange Interweaving Interposed Interdependent Intercourse Interpolation Interim Interstate Interlink Intergrade
INTER ‘Inter-’ is not a prefix which often grabs our attention in spite of the fact that it is a commonly used linguistic tool for reasoning - it suggests both an ability to connect, to link and to distinguish, to separate. Etymologically speaking, ‘inter-’ is a prefix occuring originally in Latin where it meant ‘among’, ‘between’, ‘in the midst of’, ‘mutually’, ‘together’, ‘during’ (intercept, interest). It can be argued that ‘inter-’ is tied conceptually to notions of both position and action. It is used to localize something between two or more objects, to divide them while defining another one, but doing so by connecting them through itself.
To dissect it in more abstract terms, ‘inter-’ can be read as a possibility (or a capability) to add and to define the New but strongly connected to - or even connecting - the Old. This project explores the essence of “inter-“ and its relation to intangible matters such as culture, space, time and experience. Dealing with these concepts was inevitable since “being interposed” raised engaging questions on every stage of the research and the design processes for the project.
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
THESIS RESEARCH
04 05
INTRODUCTION
Israel could be described as a country of immigrants. For over a century it has been populated, conquered, built and developed by them. These immigrants came from all over the world. Some were driven by the Zionist ideology of building a new country for the New Jew, most merely escaped from the contemporary political and economic situation in their homelands. Since the late 1960s one of the expressions for the national mechanism of assimilation in Israel was so-called ‘Absorption Center’. Originally initiated by The Jewish Agency and built in attend to attract the immigrants from welfare states, the Centers constitute a unique institution which has been combining temporary housing and learning facilities and hosting the incoming migrants for a short period (up to 10 months). Partly representing the processes of the national
institutionalization from the previous century, Absorption Centers still work today in full capacity providing its services mostly to young immigrants doing orientation and Aliyah programs offered by The Jewish Agency. In recent years the concept of building the National has been replaced by the neoliberal paradigm of building the Global. Thus, the problems of Aliyah and Absorption became more complicated, even though they are as relevant as before. Should their solution be transformed according to this new order? And if so, in which manner? Arguably, the digitalization and the technological progress in the sphere of transport, together with the growth of the middle class, have turned conventional migrants into cosmopolitans, citizens of the world*. These people could be connected to several places at once, both physically and mentally. Until recent years it has
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
* Etienne Balibar, The ‘impossible’ community of the citizens: Past and present problems Journal of Social Theory, University of California, Irvine, 2010
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
also been easier to them to travel and to change the place of work and living, due to the weakening of state borders. So, with advent of the global capitalism and the processes mentioned above, the question arises: does the Absorption Center, as a relic of Israeli nationalization, still meet the needs of new immigrants? This project examines the current practice of bringing young ‘olim’ (immigrants) to Israel and questions using the Absorption Center as an obsolete model. The concept proposed in the following is unprecedented in Israel - it includes the integration of new citizens into the global urban context of Tel Aviv while encouraging them to mix with the local community and creating an environment, which would enable positive interactions. At the same time, the goal of the project is not only to offer the city to the migrants, but also to contribute to the renovation of one of its most central and popular sites – Carmel Market.
06 07
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
08 09
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Basic terms.
Aliyah means the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the Land of Israel (‘Eretz Israel’ in Hebrew). This is one of the central terms in Jewish experience and Zionism particularly. Etymologically Aliyah in Hebrew means “the act of going up”, “the ascent” which is strongly connected to the Jewish tradition of travelling to the Land of Israel both metaphysically and geographically. As visiting of Jerusalem also involves the ascent to the city (Mount Zion historically), 754 meters above sea level, accordingly, the opposite action, the emigration from Israel, is called Yerida, which means “descent”*. An early reference to the term ‘Aliyah’ is found in the Book of Genesis in the Bible**. The twelve sons of Jacob who started the
Tribes of Israel came from Egypt to the Land in order to bury their father – they were called ‘olim’. Since the dispersion of Jewish people, this term was used to define individuals and groups of Jewish people, who migrated to Israel on a small scale. These migrations are characterized as PreModern Aliyah. Since the birth of Zionism in the late 19th century, the advocates of Aliyah have striven to facilitate the settlement of Jewish immigrants and refugees in Ottoman Palestine, Mandatory Palestine, and the sovereign State of Israel.
* Philologos, Move On Up (Toward Your Destination) Forward, 2010 ** ‘ פרק נ,ספר בראשית פסוק י“ד
Post stamp ‘Aliyah to Israel’ Keren Kayemet LeYisrael, 1950
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
10 11
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Booklet ‘Aliyah LeYisrael’ Keren Ha’Yesod
* he.wikipedia. org/Aliyah
Soon after establishing the Independence of the State of Israel (1948), in 1950, the Law of Return was unanimously passed by the Israeli Parliament. This law fulfilled the Zionist vision of Israel as the Jewish country, giving an unlimited automatic right to every Jew to come to his/ her country as ‘oleh’ (new immigrant). This was led by periodic massive waves of Aliyah from all over the world – from Morocco, Iran and Ethiopia to Brazil, United States, Soviet Union and Europe. The first wave increased the Jewish population from 650,000 to 1,300,000 in 18 months, which was historically unprecedent for countries absorbing migrants and refugees*. This wave, together with the following massive waves (Gomulka
Aliyah in the late 50s, the Aliyah from Soviet Union countries in 70s and from FSU in 90s, from Africa, South and North America and from France), became an enormous burden on the economics and infrastructure. This, in turn, influenced the housing crisis and the major ideology of the country. Before 1948, the immigrants used to settle temporarily in several ‘Oleh Houses’ which were leftovers from previous migrations established by The Jewish Agency, and afterwards – even in abandoned neighborhoods of cities like Jerusalem, Haifa, Tiberia and Zfat. Other temporary accommodation was provided in former British military camps from the period of Mandatory Palestine, in which the
from the section “Early Statehood” (‘After establishing the country’ Heb) ** Miriam Kachenski Ma’abarot Israeli Center for Educational Technology, 1986 *** Anita Shapira Israel: A History Hachette UK, 2012 from the chapter State Building: Economy, Development, and Big Government, (page unknown)
Ma’abara near Nahariya Fritz Cohen 1952 INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
... AND MA’ABAROT immigrants were not avoiding living in tents and sharing the sanitary facilities. These camps were also managed by The Jewish Agency, the organization which has been dealing with the new immigrants since the beginning of the 19 Century and which became a strategic partner for Israeli government after the Law of Return in 1950. During the following decade The Jewish Agency was managing Ma’abarot, or “absorption settlements”, which were initiated by The Agency itself in 1950**. The Ma’abarot provided impermanent accommodation for the large influx of Jewish refugees and new Jewish immigrants arriving to the newly independent State of Israel. Most of the residents were Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries and North Africa. Meant to replace the seemingly less
12 13
habitable immigrant camps or tent cities, Ma’abarot still only offered temporary housing units with no water or electricity “which were tents, tin shacks, tarpaulin or wooden huts – of any material that could be used for rapid, cheap construction”***. Clearly, the physical conditions and general absorption environment were harsh and demoralizing during this period (especially considering that, as mentioned above, most incomers were more of refugees rather than those who were driven by the ideas of Zionism). In many ways, effectiveness became the major principle of integration – ‘more’, ‘cheaper’, ‘faster’.
“
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
IDEOLOGY MIGRANTS WERE ALWAYS THE MAJOR RAW MATERIAL FOR BUILDING THE NEW COUNTRY, EQUALLY TO CEMENT OR CONCRETE
Ideologically speaking, the goal of integrating the newcomers was to regroup the Jewish people into one new nation with common culture and characteristics. This doctrine of mono-cultural dominance is well-known as ‘Melting Pot’. It has probably been more influential in Israel than in any other country even including the USA or the USSR since the country needed to deal with higher level of urgency and demographic diversity of the incoming population. Rachel Kallush and Hubert Law-Yone in their work The National Home & The Personal Home: Social Housing and the Shaping
“
of National Space in Israel1 (2000) say: “Migrants were always the major raw material for building the new country, equally to cement or concrete”. They articulated four primary planning practices for the social housing developed for Jewish immigrants in the period from the 1940s up to the 90s that are based on Lefebvre’s conceptual frames. These four approaches represent a strong connection between the governmental power and the professional practice: isolation, standardization, temporariness and opaqueness.
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
14
KALLUSH AND LAW-YONE ANALYSIS
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Friedel Stern ‘Melting pot’ Caricature for book ‘In short: Israel’, 1958
Ramat Aviv neighborhood Moshe Friedan, Government Press Office , 1972
• Isolation – disconnection and spatial separation from centers of economic, social and political power due to a modernist idea of shaping the homogeneous space through the development of peripheries. In Israel this practice has led to raising new industrial towns like Karmiel, and it was an instrument for demographic equalization in such areas, often populated mainly by Arab families.
• Standardization – unification of an environment and anonymity on both social and cultural levels. This practice deals with the doctrine of Melting Pot – erasing an old identity and replacing it with a new one, which is supposed to define a monocultural society. Not only that this paradigm failed historically, but it also resulted in sub-standard housing for average families and the implementation of Existenzminimum. That, in turn, caused a lack of identity and affection to a place.
* Jonathan Kaplan, The Mass Migration to Israel of the 1950s My Jewish Learning, 2015
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
4 MAJOR PRACTICES FOR SOCIAL HOUSING IN ISRAEL
• Temporariness – incompleteness of the built environment given to the immigrants. Due to an eternal housing crisis in Israel, the state’s investments into a space intended to new immigrants were limited. The plan was to leave them the future development of the habitats after their own financial consolidation. As a result, the quality of building initially was and remained very low.
16 17
• Opaqueness – rigid separation between private and public spaces and, consequently, the blurred feel of ownership. The lack of privacy gradation and the sharp juxtaposition of intimate and public spaces have turned a flat into a temple of individualism. In these conditions everyone owns a dwelling, but no dwelling belongs to anyone. That has been resulted in even more spatial anonymity and in a lack of people’s interest in future investment.
It is also hard to call these practices neutral and/or objective since they were used only for the incoming society. It implied the separation for townspeople and those who were sent to peripheries – ‘distributing’ and ‘distributed’. Not only that, but also a demographic separation took place: Ashkenazi migrants were better educated and better positioned to take advantage of the pre-state Ashkenazi-led society in Israel, while Jews from North Africa and the Middle East often experienced more significant discrimination*. That was also expressed in the way the immigrants were housed.
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Alongside with Amidar – the public body which was dealing with social housing directly – The Jewish Agency proceeded the political direction, chosen by the government, considering the distribution of immigrants and refugees by providing the temporary housing and absorption facilities for the newcomers (Ma’abarot, for instance, - the last was closed in 1963). Therefore, it can be argued that the same or similar practices, mentioned above, were implemented in the planning and the building of Absorption Centers in the late 1960s when they first emerged – ‘an alternative solution for impermanent immigrant housing’. This model was also developed mainly in peripheries and was intended to attract educated Jews coming from welfare states, partly in order to use them to raise and to develop industrial towns*.
* Establishing the Center of Absorption and Professional Qualification for Anglo-Saxon Immigrants DAVAR, 15.12.1957
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
ABSORPTION CENTERS
18 19
ABSORPTION CENTERS - HISTORY
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
The Jewish Agency logo The logo might represent a combination of an up-arrow, Magen David and the ‘receiving’ hands of The Agency.
Placed throughout the country, Absorption Centers are furnished temporary living quarters which represent a unique housing strategy for new immigrants right after their arrival to Israel. The Centers’ rooms or apartments are available for rental at lower rates than on the private market, providing new immigrants with a ready first destination as they become acquainted with Israeli society. Residence in an Absorption Center is usually for a period of up to six months, though participants of specific student or other Aliyah programs may stay for the duration of their program. Even though the earliest mention of the term ‘Absorption Center’ was in 1957, the building of the first Centers was only after the Six-Day War in 1967. The original
initiative was to establish 19 facilities with an annual capacity of 6,000 people*. In July 1968, The Jewish Agency had 7 active Absorption Centers: in Arad (for 300 persons), Dimona (250), Karmiel (170), and in Jerusalem, Netania, Haifa, Be’er Sheba. By 1969 there were already 10 Centers in full capacity and 3 Hotels rented by The Agency specially to deal with overwhelming burden**. Today there are 22 active Centers including seven major quarters in Ashdod, Be’er Sheba, Ashkelon, Karmiel, Jerusalem, Ra’anana and Mevaseret Zion. Most of them are intended for student programs of The Jewish Agency or specific communities (by age, by diaspora etc.)
This narrative is partly used in an image representing the project (see on the cover). * 19 Absorption Centers will be established, the first – in Arad Ma’ariv, 23.11.1967 ** Three hotels will be exploited as Absorption Centers Ma’ariv, 10.12.1970
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
+ + + + +
+
+
1968
+ + + +
+ +
+ + +
+
1969
+ ++ + + + + ++ + + + +
20
++ + +
2014
The major purpose of Absorption Centers is to support the process of acclimatization in the new country. Ulpanim (intensive Hebrew classes) are available at most Absorption Centers and are staffed by professional teams. The Centers also provide other services besides accommodation and Hebrew classes, such as orientation programs, seminars, job placement workshops, lectures regarding employment and ed-
ucational opportunities, cultural programs, celebrations of Jewish holidays, courses and field trips that teach about Judaism, Zionism, and life in Israel. An Absorption Center, therefore, can be defined as an ‘intermediate station’ in the process of adaptation into Israeli society. But the reality of the situation is not as bright as it might seem. As mentioned earlier, isolated, standardized development
was viewed as the answer to an enormous demand for ‘a landing spot’. While being a part of Israel’s territorializing processes, Absorption Centers were built fast and offered job interviews, which helped to redirect educated newcomers to develop local industries. That meant that these Centers partly fulfilled an important role in the growth of peripheries (the
notion of mandatory job interviews can be found in early reports in papers like DAVAR and Ma’ariv). The quality of housing, nevertheless, was no different from cheap student dormitories. As more and more people arrived, the poor conditions and overcrowding became more evident. The boundary of a regular Absorption Center usually appears to be a high
Kiryat Yam Absorption Center From ‘The Absorption Center’ documentary, 2017 directed by Jonathan Grynkraut
AN INSTITUTION OF ENCLOSURE fence (Karmiel, Ashkelon, Be’er Sheba, Kiryat Yam etc.), and the entry and exit are controlled by the use of so-called ‘Passes’ – signed reports which would include a name, a time, a signature and an approximate time of return. This supervision system covers not only independent trips out to another city but even a regular walk outside a Center territory. Obviously, the level of democracy in such an environment is highly debatable, which brings us to interpretation of the Absorption Center as an embodiment of undemocratic institution of enclosure articulated by Deleuze2 and developed by Michel Foucault (facilities like prisons, hospitals, schools, military bases etc.) The idea is that this kind of institution has a very specific effect on an inhabitant’s identity through a set of disciplinary strategies. We come to a closed system with some individual characteristics, and we go through a process of generalization in order to get another one (for instance, ‘pupil studying at school’, ‘prisoner serving a sentence’, ‘French/Russian/American immigrant studying Hebrew’). The personal identity, meanwhile, does not develop properly - in the eyes of others we remain ‘immigrants studying how to be locals’, and there is no room to see someone, for instance, as ‘a guy who you can take your computer to get it fixed’. In other words, personal achievements and skillsets, which define us as individuals and make mutual contri-
bution possible, are replaced with group characteristics (in this case – original nationality). This stigma can be easily born in remote, isolated and gated environments and can also stick to a person during his following integration process. Writing about gated communities, Susan Bickford notes3 that if a gate indicates safety and security to a resident of a housing development (even through a loss of convenience), it might communicate “danger-keep out” to those who are outside the border. “Most significantly, gates construct and manifest social relations – in this case, segregation” [361]. As a result, safety becomes “the city-shaping category” (Joel Garreau, Edge City: Life on the New Frontier, Anchor books, 1991) – not only regarding the spatial distribution but also in terms of constructing cognitive subjectivity among a population, in other words – ghettoes. This notion is extremely important in conjunction with the mentioned features of Absorption Centers, and with the fact that their original purpose was to help the immigrants adapt to a new society. Some examples of Absorption Centers in Israel: 1) Be’er Sheba 2) Nazeret 3) Arad 4) Ashkelon 5) Kiryat Yam 6) Karmiel
1
2
3
4
5
6
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
“HOUSE OF FUN”
+
+
In his diploma project House of Fun4 (Hebrew: פה )נפלא, Vitaliy Krivich documented the problems of about 100 immigrant teenagers in an Absorption Center. They included the lack of certainty concerning identity and feel of home, demoralising non-acceptance in Israeli society and marginalized behaviour during their Aliyah program called SELA. These young people immigrated without their families to Israel from the former Soviet Union countries and were housed in Karmiel Absorption Center or so-called “Merkaza”. The place is shown in this film as gated, surrounded by tall walls and security cameras, isolating and depressing. In an overly prolonged 10-month summer camp atmosphere (mayhem, sex, alcohol and drugs) these young people are supposed to turn from Russians to Israelis. INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
26 27
“The problem is Israeli themselves... You know why? I have a theory. The Problem is that they don’t let you feel as you are an Israeli”
“Because all the time they tell you that you are a Russian...”
“What is funny is that there we are “Jews”... You know,“Zhyds” and stuff like that...”
“But here... You say to yourself: ‘Finally! I came back to the Homeland. Nobody will bother me with this BS”
“...You are a Russian...”
A song from the trailer:
What did I come here for?...
Everybody in Merkaza is waiting for the summer...
To get out of here!..
To get home as soon as possible...
When will I get home?..
...but they will meet me there and will say: “Go back�...
Here I watch movies until morning and then I sleep half a day...
After that, you drink again and watch a movie until late...
And then again you go back to sleep... like a piece of shit...
...Don’t know what might happen to me here...
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
30 31
The described image reflects my personal experience as well. I immigrated to Israel in 2013 on the same program mentioned in the documentary (SELA Karmiel). And even though I admit that this was a pleasant camp-like period of my life, I cannot ignore the fact that it had nothing to do with absorption. Yes, we met friends, and yes, we had almost no responsibilities. But we were learning about our new country’s history and culture from a distance while communicating only with companions with very little interaction with the local Hebrew-speaking community. I personally felt dependent and isolated both geographically and socially; and I did not understand who is protected from whom by these walls and why. If in the beginning it was amusing, by the end it became quite depressing for many of us.
Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Karmiel, Israel
CURRENT CONTEXT
32 33
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
CURRENT CONTEXT
“
It is not enough to speak about Aliyah. It’s almost prohibited for the head of The Jewish Agency to say so, but it can’t be our goal [just] to bring more Jewish people [to Israel].
“
In recent years The Jewish Agency has acknowledged a decreased urgency of investment in Aliyah due to a seemingly stable situation for Jews outside Israel. Instead, the emphasis was shifted to supporting global Jewish identity. Therefore, hundreds of programs are offered to Jewish youth from all over the world to visit Israel, such as Taglit, Masa, Onward Israel and SELA*. The outcome is that around 15,000 young Jews (according to Masa statistics from 2015-17) come to Israel annually in order to get an education, to do a professional internship and/or to have an unforgettable experience getting to know the State of Israel. The Agency’s future plan is to bring more than 20,000
people each year (only for Masa, not including other programs)**. Even though these projects are not necessarily oriented for those making Aliyah (according to the changed vector of the Agency’s policies, established in 2010 by Natan Sharansky, the head of The Jewish Agency), apparently, many of these young people still use Masa and similar initiatives as a steppingstone in order to immigrate eventually. Today 37% of the new immigrants coming to Israel are aged between 19 and 35 years old, and around 70% of them are Masa alumni***. As a result, the Absorption Centers are as involved in providing housing and learning facilities as ever before.
At the February 2010 Board of Governors meeting, Natan Sharansky (the head of The Agency) announced a shift in the priorities of The Jewish Agency from Aliyah to strengthening Jewish identity for young adults around the world.
* Alan Hoffmann, A Better Approach to Aliyah Ha’Aretz, 20.01.2012 ** Amanda Borschel-Dan, Young Diaspora Jews ponder whether to put a ring on it with Israel The Times of Israel, 10.08.2015 *** According to The Times of Israel** (2015) the number of Masa alumni is up to 90% of young immigrants. Masa Retrospective Study of Alumni (2005-14) shows: 22% of those coming from North America; ~60% - from FSU; ~53% - from France. INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
STATISTICS
34 35
‘17 ‘16 ‘15
2017
7161 5801 7134
‘17 ‘16 ‘15
2017
3389 4802 6435
‘17 ‘16 ‘15
2017
2929 3150 3339
‘17 ‘16 ‘15
2017
1311 1100
‘17 ‘16
2017
FROM 7188 7044 6621
Russia
Ukraine
The amount of new immigrants who came Israel in 2017 consiste 34,200 people (28,600 ‘olim’ and 5,600 ‘khozrim’). This number is 5% mo than in 2016.
France
USA
The majority of the immigrants are from former Soviet Union countries.
971 663
‘17 ‘16
2017
Ethiopia
674 492
‘17 ‘16
2017
Belarus
‘17 ‘16
UK (and other countries)
Masa Partic ipa nt
000 20
‘16 ‘14 ‘11
18-35 y.o. 37%
12 00
**MASA programs: duration - 4 to 10 months >60 countries participating >200 programs for 18-30 y.o. participants
‘20 - future plan
000 16
According to the Knesset member K.Razvozov, every 6th immigrant who made Aliyah in young age (’one-and-a-half generation’) leaves Israel due to a ‘glass ceiling’, negative stereotypes and high real estate prices.
s
0 0 1050
504 550
2017
Brazil
The Jewish
not 18-35 63%
Ashdod, Bat Yam, Ra’anana, Be’er Sheba, Askelon and others
Jerusalem 2777 Around 10,000 of new immigrants settled in israeli metropolitan cities, such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Netania. Others settled in satellites and other suburban areas, mostly due to a rental capability and to an initial distribution after the arrival.
Tel Aviv 2684 Haifa 2298 Netania 2185
on ati r ig 5 y.o.
44%
-6 45
19%
12%
Others
25%
19- y.o .
h Agency’s Masa alumni ** 20-33%*
2044 y.
o.
Young Im m 66+y.o
growth
5 y.o. *according to different sources: The Times of Israel (up to 90% of young immigrants making Aliyah are Masa alumni), 2015; Masa Retrospective Study of Alumni 2004-2014 (22% of those coming from North America, ~60% - from FSU and ~53% - from France)
20-44 y.o. 12482
5590 66+ y.o.
5%
on paris om 7C 01
200 7 - 34 201 32500 16 20
20 16 -2
7117 19- y.o.
ore
3405 45-65 y.o.
e to ed 0
STATS
SELA participants
[As a result, the Absorption Centers are as involved in providing housing and learning facilities as ever before] 188 ~140 ~125 ~105 ~80
?
?
?
?
?
‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18
Dwelling unit area - 40 sqm Amount of tenants - 4 (used to be 3 six years ago)
PROPOSAL
38 39
PROPOSAL The real-life circumstances demand a new approach in shaping appropriate conditions for social and cultural acclimatization. For this reason, a strategy, different from the one used in the Absorption Centers, was chosen. The idea is to disassemble a Center and to integrate its essential functions such as housing, learning facilities and leisure into an active urban fabric. In addition, to improve them and to add new programs which will fit the needs of new immigrants and assimilate them into the global-city community successfully. As a case-study I work with one in Karmiel - based on the personal experience and House of Fun documentary.
Rooms Classrooms Service Public spaces Offices
PROGRAM STUDY
laundry
computer room
42 sqm
dining room
126 sqm
service rooms (inc. ancilary rooms)
archive
112 rooms (40 sqm) 4 rooms (60 sqm)
21 sqm
4720 sqm
42 sqm
137 sqm
playground
12 classrooms
20 sqm
497 sqm
mini court
6 offices
20 sqm
131 sqm open space
hall security facilities
restrooms
480 sqm
165 sqm
115 sqm
40 41
72 sqm
3 POSSIBLE STRATEGIES
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Strategically, three major possible approaches are suggested to start the design process. Among these three I decided to choose one:
• Closed centred system – the existing one, in which the intermediate adaptation experience occurs in an isolated environment devoid of almost any interaction with the outer community. In this work, my intention is to show that although this model is effective by financial and quantitative criteria, good socio-cultural relations between incoming and absorbing communities are not fostered and social stigmas are perpetuated.
Etienne Balibar The ‘impossible‘ community of the citizens: Past and present problems [6] Journal of Social Theory, University of California, Irvine, 2010
• Multi-focal distributed system – the radically opposite approach, which would give newcomers absolute independence from an assimilating institution. In this case, this strategy might be viewed as a distribution of ‘olim’ throughout the national or urban fabric, giving total freedom of mobility and self-sufficiency.
• Open centred system – the model representing a synthesis between the previous two. On one hand, it would retain the advantage of proximity and supportive relations within the incoming society, and on another hand, it would give several motives for the local community to get involved, creating necessary interactions which would cause individual and social growth. INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
“
PERSPECTIVES OF THE OPENING OF CITIZENS’ RIGHTS TO MIGRANTS, ASSOCIATED WITH FULL RECOGNITION OF THE RIGHT OF CIRCULATION AND A MEASURED INSTITUTION OF THE RIGHT OF SETTLEMENT, MUST FACE POWERFUL OBJECTIONS
“
42 43
PRESERVING THE INSTITUTION
Choosing between multi-focal and open centred models, I would like to relate to a piece written by Etienne Balibar in 2011, The ‘impossible’ community of the citizens: Past and present problems5. In this work Balibar reflects on the crisis of citizenship and the conflict between national social citizenship and neoliberal forms of global governance. “Perspectives of the opening of citizens’ rights to migrants, associated with full recognition of the right of circulation and a measured institution of the right of settlement, must face powerful objections” [6]. In the piece this statement is explained by the fact that the neoliberal globalization has led to the destruction of the institutions of welfare and more
generally ‘social security’ together with the creation of the control society articulated by Gilles Deleuze. In these modern conditions there are new individualistic ethics of ‘care for yourself’ to which individuals themselves are supposed to subject their conduct. According to the new code of neoliberal values, a ‘de-affiliated’ individual (be he/she a migrant or not) should become the ‘entrepreneur’ or ‘manager’ of his/her own life. In other words, by giving an individual full freedom and full responsibility on his/her life, we may make a step towards what is described by many sociologists, like Robert Castel (1995; 2003) [Balibar, 8], as negative individualism. “Being devalued, like a weak currency or a rotten stock” [8], a per-
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Sarah Ormsby, ‘Societies of control‘ (collage) Posted on Mediafactory. org.au, 11.10.2014
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
WHY OPEN CENTRED SYSTEM son (in this case an immigrant) can face the crisis of representation in society (not only a political one) and be eventually overwhelmed by the challenge of integration. For this reason, the model this project suggests is an open centred system which gives a compromise to the need for representation and institutional protection, while making
44 45
maximum social assimilation possible. In other words, the idea is to preserve a curtain level of institutionalization and its advantages concerning the immigrant absorption while making it open and inviting to the outer community. In this way, a step towards negative individualism can be truly avoided.
...BUT WHY THE CITY?..
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
WHY THE CITY
First, I would like to discuss why is it so important for this project to redirect the vector of assimilation from the periphery to the city. Cities were not always the key sites for the making of new norms and identities or institutional innovations in general. For instance, it is well known that the strategic scale of the Fordist city in the middle of the 20th Century was the national scale, in which cities lose significance, and the development was mostly related to mass manufacturing and mass consumption. In our era of globalization and digitalization though, the national, as a container of social process, has been weakened and cities have emerged once again as strategic sites of cultural and institutional change. Saskia Sassen in her work Does the City have Speech?6 (2013) notes that even as cities have long been home to racisms and expulsions
of the poor, they have historically evinced a capacity “to triage conflict through commerce and civic activity” [221]. The modern national scale, on the other hand, has tended to militarize conflict instead. Accepting the fact that, regardless of the immigrant origin and their financial base, we are dealing with powerlessness of some sort (lack of experience, social connections and mostly – linguistic obstacles), it is important for me in this project to embrace the conflict and the interaction of the differences in order to use them as a generator for social and economic growth. “Becoming present, visible, to each other can alter the character of powerlessness” (Sassen, 2013) [213] In the search for the ‘cityness’ I refer once again to the author’s work and to the question that she raises – does the City have Speech? ‘Speech’ in INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
“
DOES THE CITY HAVE SPEECH?
BECOMING PRESENT, VISIBLE, TO EACH OTHER CAN ALTER THE CHARACTER OF POWERLESSNESS
this case is an abstract term defined as a code of behaviours and norms laid in an intersection of time/space/people/routinized practices (particularly commerce and the civic), it is how the city expresses itself in its complexity and incompleteness – “it is neither simply urban space nor simply people, it is their combination that can generate Speech” [210]. A simple example for the Speech that Sassen offers is a car, built for speed, which gets stuck in a traffic jam the moment it enters the city. Suddenly it gets ‘crippled’ - the city has spoken.
46 47
“
So, where is the ‘cityness’ expressed at its apogee? Where does the intersection of urban space and people lie? And where do commerce and the civic meet a ritualized public domain (space which has an additional, ‘ritual’ meaning)? These questions cause me to turn my eyes toward city markets and their capability to generate Speech.
MARKETS AS CONTAINERS OF ‘CITYNESS’
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Indeed, as we can notice in other cities, which might view themselves as global, such as Barcelona, Rotterdam, Tokyo, Tallinn and many others, markets often get invested by municipalities and private businesses as they represent a focal point not only for local economies, but also have an importance as a tourist attraction, building an image for a city. The commerce and civic activity, which, according to Sassen, have a positive potential to neutralize the conflict, meet in an urban space like a city market and, in my opinion, create the essence of ‘cityness’. Being such an important part of the urban life, city markets often get a unique architectural expression, which not only defines the way the market works and its construction, but also turns it into distinguishable icon on a cityscape.
(‘INTERPOSED’ as a part of a global network?)
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
48 49
50 51
SITE
52 53
CARMEL MARKET, TEL AVIV
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
The design thesis takes place in Carmel Market in Tel Aviv. This site is the embodiment of vibrant city life. Here you can meet both locals and tourists, old men and youngsters, religious families and hipsters, office workers and artists. It is equally close to both sea and city center. The market is full of noise, lights and smells - it includes almost every aspect of Israeli culture and truthfully depicts the life of an Israeli man in the global city... Or at least it should.
Photos taken by a friend of mine, Daniel Mashtakov
+
Tel Aviv INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
54 55
CARMEL MARKET PHYSICAL STATE
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Drone photo taken by Daniel Gueta
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
DAY VS NIGHT & THE CITY BUILDING PLAN
58 59
THE MARKET, DAY VS NIGHT In fact, while social engagements revolve around the market by day, during the night it splinters across the streets, creating an urban anomaly. As a result, instead of being a cultural and economic catalyst for the city, Carmel Market represents a fearful border – people avoid entering its area preferring to detour, even if that means making a longer way. At the same time, surrounding businesses suffer by losing their clients after a certain hour in evening*. The infrastructure is old or non-existent: at night a huge amount of garbage – the mix of vegetables, meet, flowers, plastic and other waste – is literally washed away down Carmel Street flooding the southern part and making it al-
most impossible to pass through. Stall owners complain about rats, about absence of roofing and very poor sanitary conditions in general (from personal interview). Clearly, such a situation does not make it possible for Carmel Market to be viewed as an image-maker for a global city, even though it is still full of people – tourists and locals – every day. * Mirav Moran “Who is afraid of darkness? What Carmel Market can learn from Mahane Yehuda Market” for themarker.com 10.03.2017
THE MARKET RENEWAL * Ofer Matan, “No more separation between meet, vegetables and clothes. We are one market”
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
** The City Building Plan 3888 (‘TABA 3888’) The last publishing: 20.03.2018
for Yediot Aharonot, 25.01.2018
Planners: Axelrod Grobman Architects Detailed information about the plan: www.kerem-israel.info/plans/ acarmel-market
Being aware of the problem, as early as in 2009 (10 years ago) the Tel Aviv municipality initiated a new renewal plan for the district. The City Building Plan 3888 (or so-called TABA 3888) is meant to create an appropriate infrastructure along Carmel Street, to build a center of logistics in the southern part of the market, an underground parking, a commercial market extension and new stalls. In addition, the TABA implies selling to stall owners a legal right to own the property in this area, as for today it is not secured. As for the municipality, that means a significant influx of money
(200,000 NIS for 7 square meters of the area from each owner – 4,000 NIS every year for the next 50 years). This, in turn, makes the renovation process even more complicated – by 2019 it has still not started even on the level of infrastructure renewal*. The innovation program also implies an intervention in all the urban blocks of Kerem Ha’Teimanim neighborhood, adjacent to the market lane. The new strip of blocks will include new housing, commerce on the ground level, offices and hotels, turning the whole area to a prestigious development**. INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
TABA 3888 (DRAWINGS)
62 63
TABA 3888 (3D COMPARISON)
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
Existing state 3D model
TABA 3888 3D model
* Ofer Matan, “No more separation between meet, vegetables and clothes. We are one market” for Yediot Aharonot, 25.01.2018
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
SO
AN ACTUAL PROPOSAL
64 65
In order to avoid widely common processes of gentrification on Carmel Street, the proposal is to integrate young new immigrants into this urban context. Furthermore, this synthesis would help to bring regular consumers that are so needed today, when most of the visitors are passers-by or tourists, satisfied by “staring at the kiosks without buying anything but falafel or glass of juice�. Stall owners themselves note* that their only constant consumers are mainly young people, who rent apartments in the surrounding area. In turn, the rich and diverse culture which saturates this urban site will only contribute to the process of learning and absorption in general and will give an opportunity to establish positive connections with both local and international communities.
The idea is to relate to the positive aspects of the City Building Plan, such as: the infrastructure renovation, the market extension in the southern part, the logistic center, the new bus station and the public building on the western side. At the same time this project suggests an alternative development for the line of urban blocks which are located along the market on Carmel Street, viewing that as an architectural challenge and serving the project purposes.
SITE ANALYSIS & MAPPING
66 67
The market is placed on Carmel Street which in many ways serves as a border – it separates between two neighbourhoods: Mediterranean Kerem Ha’Teimanim and eclectic, bourgeois
K
em er
H
eim a’T
Nachalat Binyamin. Historically these two neighbourhoods were populated during different periods of time and by different people. That found an expression in almost every aspect of urban life.
anim
EXISTING STATE
Na ch a la t
in am ny Bi Ha
Mixed (TABA proposal for the market)
Residential
Mixed (with ground floor commerce)
Commercial
K
em er
H
eim a’T
anim
TABA 3888
Na ch a la t
in am ny Bi Ha
68 69
Public
Offices
Storage
Synagogues
K
em er
H
eim a’T
anim
it is notable, that Nachalat Binyamin has bigger blocks with lower coverage (50.6% in NB against 76.8% in Kerem), which mutually influences the typology and proportions of its buildings.
NOLLI MAP
Na ch a la t
in am ny Bi Ha
These two districts are different not only programmatically (almost every building in Nachalat Binyamin has a commercial façade, while Kerem’s buildings are mainly residential) – grid-wise
K
em er
H
eim a’T
anim
BY HEIGHTS
Na ch a la t
in am ny Bi Ha
70 71
While Kerem has lower buildings defined by the Mediterranean style (with inner yards, open and usable roofs, covered by plaster in different colors), Nachalat Binyamin is characterized by
H
anim
BUILDING STYLE
Na ch a la t
in am ny Bi Ha
K
em er
eim a’T
Tel-Avivian eclectic and Bauhaus buildings, which are mostly to be conserved. They are also taller and leave more space between each other for vegetation and natural circulation of people and air.
‘Mediterranean’
‘Bauhaus’ style
For conservation
Eclectic style
H
anim
FOR CONSERVATION
Na ch a la t
in am ny Bi Ha
K
em er
eim a’T
K
em er
H
eim a’T
anim
preserved for pedestrians only. For instance, Nachlat Binyamin Street is open for an art fair twice a week. In a bigger scale, this whole area in Tel Aviv can be described as a market district: in the dis-
CIRCULATION
Na ch a la t
in am ny Bi Ha
What unites these two districts and makes this area even more attractive is the fact that they are very pedestrian-friendly – most of the routes through the neighbourhoods are mixed or
Pedestrian Vehicle axises
tance of 2 minutes by walk there is Bezalel Market (the market of clothes); there is Carmel Market which sells food, clothes and souvenirs; and there is the art fair street, mentioned above. Bezalel Market
K
em er
H
eim a’T
anim
‘MARKET DISTRICT’
Na ch a la t
in am ny Bi Ha Carmel Market
Nachalat Binyamin art fair
INTERVENTION
76 77
AXONOMETRIC VIEW
78 79
WEAVING THE URBAN FABRIC In order to make the project function as a connector, first, it is imporatant to understand the behavior of the surrounding urban fabric and how to react to it. While blocks in Kerem Ha’Teimanim are small and almost fully covered with low buildings (cov. 76%), Nachalat Binyamin is characterized by revatively low coverage (54%) and big block areas.
KEREM HA’TEIMANIM
OPEN PUBLIC SPACE
NACHALAT BINYAMIN
The intervention’s blueprint allows to connect between the streets on both sides. At the created junctions there are open pedestrian spaces left for better space orientation and for smoother transition between two districts.
BRIDGING The core of the project is a system of bridges, which connects the districts in a spatial, visual and programmatic way. These connections host public and communal functions while bringing agents from in- and outside the project. The bridge width varies from 6 to 9.5 meters.
Commercial Residential
Public
PROPORTIONS
Three-dimensional expression of the intervention on each side resembles the proportions and frequency of buildings on the according side. The project height is under 17.5 m, defined for this strip by the city building plan (TABA 3888): ~ commercial facade (5.2m) ~ 2 storeys (3.5m) ~ the 3rd floor (2m step back)
MAIN AGENTS
For the purposes of programmatic distribution four major agents were chosen in both urban and global scales: young immigrants, local students, Carmel Market and local community.
SUB-PROGRAMS CONNECTIONS Defined main programs were devided into sub-programs which may serve multiple clients in an equal way or be intended for one group only, depending on a specific function.
In order to create a logical Space Syntax algorithm, possible interconnections between the functions were defined. Each shade of grey represents the degree of connectivity.
84 85
PROGRAMMATIC SECTION (From earlier design stages)
Besides having the programmatic meaning, the ‘bridges’ are meant to create a sequence of void-spaces which make it possible to light and air to penetrate the complex in an equable way.
Furthermore, by this act, the market does not turn into a close mall, but remains open for free circulation.
game room game room
gym GYM
classrooms classrooms
dining room dining room
computer rooms computer lab
laundry laundry room
housing housing
POSSIBLE FUNC
POSSIBLE FUNCTIONS (OR/OR)
cafe cafe
restaurants restaurants
hall hall
synagogue synagogue
library library
studio studio
CTIONS (OR/OR)
PRIVATEtoTOpublic PUBLIC private
The idea behind the diagram above is to create a field of programmatic posibilities for each ‘bridge’. It was helpful for the design process. One of the decisions, which was
based on working on this section, is to give a pure urban public function (restaurants, GYM, bars) only to the bridges, places on the 1st floor in order to make them easier for general public to reach.
MARKET ORGANIZATION The market gets an extension by penetrating the blocks and creating an additional walking path through. Carmel Street turns into a linear park, giving the city a green space and creating a niche to rest from the intensive commerce. The delivery is proceeded from underground by a net of elevators distributed on the new market axis (up to 25m distance)
EN
E GR
I
AX
IS
XIS
A ET
K
R MA
T.
S EL
M
ON
R CA
Linear park on Carmel St. replacing the existing market axis Market stores, bars and restaurants Delivery elevators - from underground to ground floor Delivery radiuses - 25 meters
SUSTAINABLE MARKET
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
CONFIGURATION 1: Flat shelves of the display allow to use them for items which do not necessarily need much space, such as: souvenirs, CD disks, dishes and others.
CONFIGURATION 2: The shelves are rotated 40 degrees, creating a larger surface, that can be used to display big boxes with vegetables, fruites, flowers etc.
The market’s new kiosks are placed in the middle of the created path, wraped around by consumers. This spatial configuration is different from the existing one, since today the stalls of Carmel Market are located on the sides of Carmel St., giving only 2.54 meters for the pedestrians’ circulation. One of the major challenges for planning the sequence of new stalls was the design of market’s new infrastructure. Considering the fact, that the logistic center is going to be built in the southern part of Carmel Market, the idea is to
create a new, technological type of stalls. Here are some principles which led to the realization of the concept: 1) flexible shelves (30cm width), which can be rotated and fixed in order to fit a specific product’s display 2) the system of pneumatic garbage disposal ensures an easier cleaning process during the day 3) personal lockers* for stall owners underneath the display 4) the system of water collection that supports the irrigation of the green area, created on Carmel St.
* vertical hanging elements, which are a very useful common feature of many markets, can be hidden in lockers completely (the locker’s width is 60 cm) CONFIGURATION 3: The shelves are rotated in a free way fitting a specific need of a stall owner.
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
STALL SHELVES’ CONFIGURATIONS
‘CLICK’
‘CLICK’
90 91
WATER COLLECTION
NATURAL COOLING
92 93
PNEUMATIC GARBAGE DISPOSAL
FLEXIBLE STALL STRUCTURE
94 95
A STALL DURING THE DAY
A PAVILION DURING THE NIGHT
TRANSITION PROCESS
98 99
The technological approach allowed to create a dynamic system which could turn stall shelves into pavilion benches. The rotation mechanism is used to turn potentially dirty shelves 180 degrees, so that users can feel comfortly. The 2-meter height system floor underneath the market which contains garbage disposal pipes as well as other systems, can hide the moving parts of the lifting mechanism too.
“
A NEIGHBORHOOD OR A CITY IS AN ARTIFICIAL ECOSYSTEM GOVERNED BY RULES SIMILAR TO THOSE OF NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE MORE DIFFERENT SPECIES EXIST AND THE MORE EQUALITY THERE IS BETWEEN THEM, THE MORE BALANCED AND CONSISTENT IT WILL BE*
“
102 103
Similar to the urban layout of the project, which reflects the spatial character of each of two juxtaposing neighborhoods while ‘weaving’ them through the core of the project, the housing configuration fits this concept accordingly. It reflects communal and inviting way of life in Kerem Ha’Teimanim on one side and private-bourgeoise way of life of Nachalat Binyamin on the other. For this reason, two different housing types were implemented on each side – ‘Kerem’ side gets double-floor communal units inspired by the work of Vincente Guallard*, while Nachalat Binyamin side gets a set of studio apartments, each ~27 sqm. Similarly to Guallard Sociopolis (2004), this project seeks new spaces for social interactions. I propose the generation of shared spaces: in other words, between an individual, isolated space, belonging to a person, and common or public spaces, there are the shared spaces. Those can be found in both dwelling unit scale and inside the connecting bridges which carry communal and public programs. * Vincente Guallard, “Sociopolis, Project for a City of the Future” Actar and Architekturzentrum Wien, 2004 (the quote - p.23)
INTEGRATIVE APPROACH FOR HOUSING
104 105
10 11
8
7 9
Nachalat Binyamin
The housing model attempts to create an urban structure which would ensure harmonious coexistence among the different social groups that use it. In ‘Interposed’ each building has a mixed program, as well as each individual home, in line with the program that supports the building it occupies. The building, in this case, becomes a hybrid being, whose diverse character adds to the richness of the city and provides improved social cohesion. It transforms into a meeting point and into an area to stimulate creation and action. So, the communal life in Kerem Ha’Teimanim side is structured as co-operative housing. Most of the dwelling units on this
side are double-floor units intended for the life of 8-15 students (both immigrants AND local students). The communal aspect of life (kitchens, dining rooms, game rooms, and living rooms) is usually revolved around an inner patio yard (around 2.5x4.5m each). These patios give a new quality of bringing more, light and greenery to space while connecting two floors of a communal unit. Moreover, this patio-yard serves as an additional acoustic buffer and gives another meeting point bounding an area for semi-private interactions and forming an activity node.
LEVEL 1 PLAN Kerem Ha’Teimanim
1
Legend: double-storey dwelling unit (14 persons) .1 studio apartments .2 double-storey offices for rent .3 restaurant .4 kitchen .5 storage .6 bar .7 GYM .8 showers and fitting rooms .9 workshops / classrooms .10 game room / meeting point .11
3
4
6 5 2
Here is an alternative space configuration, in which a dwelling unit is opened towards a public function, occupying its area for the purposes of communal activity. For instance, during hours, when the restaurant is closed, its space can still be used by the community. In this way, this whole part of the complex would operate as a united public-communal unit.
106 107
4
5
6
9 5
6
5 10 7
8 4
Nachalat Binyamin
With the aim of allowing for more social interaction, on one hand, and more efficiency in the system, on the other (so that people have more square meters, more space for their own use), I gave each individual his/her own room which fits a temporary way of life in the building area-wise* while making communal functions shared. The idea is that in this way, certain uses – such as cooking, eating, relaxing – can be shared, while other uses – sleeping, dressing, bathing, etc. – remain strictly private and individual. Different from Guallard’s Sociopolis (2004) though, communal housing units in Interposed offer a shared bathroom between each two private bedrooms to achieve maximum efficiency in the given spatial conditions.
Each individual owns ~15 sqm Each individual shares ~100 sqm Each person enjoys ~115 sqm (!) Some of the dwellings establish dynamic relations with other dwellings and with the public spaces in the ‘bridges’ by being connected to them physically. There are small pedestrian actual bridges which connect communal areas of some of the big dwelling units. Some of the units have an opportunity to be open to the public/urban spaces when they do not function as such. In this way, the whole system can operate as a homogeneous ecosystem with no rigid inner or outer separation**. Public spaces can be transformed into communal workshops for activities such as yoga classes, art workshops, conferences, etc.
LEVEL 2 PLAN Kerem Ha’Teimanim
Legend: double-storey dwelling unit (14 persons) .1 studio apartments .2 double-storey offices for rent .3 small meeting rooms .4 open terraces .5 laundry room .6 game room .7 computer corner .8 classroom / small auditorium .9 conference room .10
1
5 3
“ 4
2
THE DWELLINGS USUALLY PROVIDE ONLY 10 PERCENT OF THEIR SERVICES. ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF FOUR*** IN HALF THE SPACE OR WITH HALF THE RESOURCES WE SHOULD ACHIEVE TWICE AS MANY THINGS IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THE EFFICIENCY OF OUR ENVIRONMENT. FOR THAT PURPOSE, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO BUILD MORE EFFICIENT HOMES AND BUILDINGS WITH RESOURCES SHARED AMONG THE USERS [GUALLARD, 39]
108 109
4 3 4 4
3
5
Nachalat Binyamin
Additionally, since my personal experience partly served as a trigger for this project, I decided to use one of my late discoveries from that period for the proposal concerning some of the communal programs. While recalling about the time spent in the Absorption Center in Karmiel, I realized that the only positive interaction with local Hebrew-speaking community that I had was on a basketball court. This brought me to some reflections regarding a game as a common language which has a potential to be the generator for the personal realization and for the assimilation in any community. Indeed, a game does not have (or has a minimum) obstacles in communication. Healthy competi-
tiveness does not create a conflict; it generates mutual interest and respect instead. For this reason, I tried to create spaces which would encourage the living communities to play. That found an expression in spaces such as: living rooms (around patios, at the opening connecting a dwelling unit with a public function), buffer spaces between the dwellings, meeting points (near the laundry, for example) and roofs of the ‘bridges’ (stable outer games such as table tennis).
LEVEL 3 PLAN Legend:
Kerem Ha’Teimanim
2-room apartments .1 library .2 open terraces .3 classrooms .4 studio apartments .5
1
4
4 4 2
3
‘MY HOUSE IS MY NEIGHBORHOOD; MY NEIGHBORHOOD IS MY HOUSE’ * In my opinion, no one would genuinely like to occupy a big empty area with few personal belongings brought from his/her home. ** Public spaces can be transformed into communal workshops for activities such as yoga classes, art workshops, conferences, etc. *** Faktor view: Ernst U. von Weizsaecker, Amony B. Lovins, L. H. Lovins; Droemer/Knaur 12.1997
110 111
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
CIRCULATION
Public
Private
In terms of the circulation, it was important not to occupy too much of the project’s area for all the different communities that use it (tenants, workers, marker sellers, and city citizens). That is why a particular staircase, inspired by one in Melbourne School of Design, built by NADAAA in 2014, is meant to solve this problem. At each mid-landing of each straight run, the stair splits and turns back as a return stair thus allowing the user to choose alternate routes to shorten their path to their given destination. The
configuration is repeated at each level but rotated 180 degrees producing a Piranesian lacing of pathways. This kind of staircase can allow different groups of people to use the same circulation instrument without disturbing each other. For instance, if a public function, such as a restaurant, is placed on one side, and a tenant’s home is placed on another side, they can still both use the same staircase to reach their destination, meeting only on the mid-landing (which only gives it an additional, connecting quality).
an earlier lo-fi rendering, representing the organic look of the facade Special thanks to Avi Cohen for support and assistance during the coding process
INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
FAÇADE The way in which the façade works partly resembles the same concept represented in the project plans. While being straight and repetitive on the sides, outstanding horizontal elements gradually change their shape by getting closer to the complex’ core. That brings an organic, connecting look not only to the 2-dimensional character of the project, but also to its three-dimensional appearance. The elements are held on a set of perforated steel profiles (15cm width, every 1.5m, standing 80-100cm out), and their shape is meant to give a passive solution to the problem of acoustics as well as thermal insulation. The angle, in which they meet the sound waves, reflects and breaks it so that minimum noise can penetrate the inner space. Another advantage of the shape is the fact that it does not allow doves and seagulls to land on them since The design is proceeded by means of using parametric the angle of the upper face is still sharper than 15 degrees. tools (Rhino+Grasshopper).
112 113
114 115
116 117
118 119
120 121
FINAL WORD
THE N D
122 123
Hopefully, the project succeeds to realize an opportunity for innovation and architectural manifestation. For this work, the manner, in which it meets my social, urban-planning and environmental commitments with avant-garde and innovative ideas, constitutes an example of urbanistic and architectural harmony which combines tradition and modernity. An attempt to make ‘INTERPOSED’ function as a connector for different groups of users was intentionally evident in many aspects of the design, such as: the programmatic and spatial configuration, the circulation, the morphology of the building together with its façade; on the urban level – in its location and the blueprint. I believe that the ideas that I have discovered and implemented in the design process will find their expression again in my professional practice. Thanks to all my teachers, friends, parents, and people who believed in me during my studies in the Technion.
Boris Levin The Technion 2018/19
BIBLIOGRAPHY 01
Rachel Kallush and Hubert Law-Yone, The National Home & The Personal Home: Social Housing and the Shaping of National Space in Israel, Theory and Criticism 16, The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, 2000
02
Gilles Deleuze, Postscript on the Societies of Control, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1992
03
Susan Bickford, Constructing Inequality: City Spaces and the Architecture of Citizenship Political Theory 28, Sage Publications, 2000
04
Vitali Krivich, House of Fun, 2-Team Productions, 2013 film
05
Etienne Balibar, The ‘impossible’ community of the citizens: Past and present problems Journal of Social Theory, University of California, Irvine, 2010
06
Saskia Sassen, Does the City have Speech? Urban Challenges: Essay, Duke University Press, 2013
07
Jonathan Kaplan, The Mass Migration to Israel of the 1950s, My Jewish Learning, 2015
08
Philologos, Move On Up (Toward Your Destination), Forward, 2010
09
he.wikipedia.org/Aliyah
10
Miriam Kachenski, Ma’abarot, Israeli Center for Educational Technology, 1986
11
Anita Shapira, Israel: A History, Hachette UK, 2012
12
Establishing the Center of Absorption and Professional Qualification for Anglo-Saxon Immigrants, DAVAR, 15.12.1957 INTERPOSED Absorption & The Urban
13
19 Absorption Centers will be established, the first – in Arad, Ma’ariv, 23.11.1967
21
Tree hotels will be exploited as Absorption Centers Ma’ariv, 10.12.1970
Ofer Matan, “No more separation between meet, vegetables and clothes. We are one market”, Yediot Aharonot, 25.01.2018
15
22
14
Alan Hoffmann, A Better Approach to Aliyah, Ha’Aretz, 20.01.2012
16
Amanda Borschel-Dan, Young Diaspora Jews ponder whether to put a ring on it with Israel, The Times of Israel, 10.08.2015
17
Masa Retrospective Study of Alumni, 2005-14
18
Joel Garreau, Edge City: Life on the New Frontier, Anchor books, 1991
19
Sarah Ormsby, Societies of control, Mediafactory.org.au, 11.10.2014
20
124 125
Market, themarker.com, 10.03.2017
Mirav Moran, Who is afraid of darkness? What Carmel Market can learn from Mahane Yehuda
The City Building Plan 3888 (‘TABA 3888’) The last publishing: 20.03.2018, Planners: Axelrod Grobman Architects; Detailed information about the plan: www.kerem-israel.info/plans/ acarmel-market
23
Vincente Guallard, Sociopolis, Project for a City of the Future, Actar and Architekturzentrum Wien, 2004
24
Ernst U. von Weizsaecker, Amony B. Lovins, L. H. Lovins Faktor view, Droemer/Knaur, 12.1997
TECHNION Israel Institute of Technology