boundaries and the materiality of architecture

Jonathan Ventura + Sharon Danzig

The materiality of architecture is an elusive concept to define, yet one we must identify and articulate. On the surface, it deals with the materials of our built, usually urban, surroundings. However, let us suggest two options to tackle this broad and important issue. The first, is through the lens of semiotic knowledge. Based on interpretation and sociocultural context, this vista views materials as mirroring symbolic meaning. For example, while timber holds various engineering and technical qualities, the cultural difference between ash to the American culture, maple to the Canadian culture and cherry to the Japanese culture are all part of semiotic interpretation. In the same manner, colour is another important attribute, as we can clearly see by the almost automatic connection between red and Ferrari.

A second vista of interpretation relating to the materiality of architecture is what stands in the forefront in this piece – the political potential of materiality in the urban environment. Either to create geo-political boundaries between countries, to marginalise women in religious communities, or to enforce a superiority of one race over another – mundane materials and objects possess tremendous potential. It is this potential that stands at the heart of this piece. Although rarely discussed, the materiality of architecture is crucial for understanding our daily surroundings. In unique cases, like the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the materiality of architecture is closely linked to political cultures and power constructs, influencing the daily lives of everyone while mirrored in the mundane objects comprising these spaces. However, the political possibilities of objects as an inherent part of architecture and the design of urban spaces, is not restricted to these unique instances. As designers, architects and urban planners find it easier to discuss materiality vis-à-vis the clean façade of semiotic knowledge – i.e., colour, finish and symbolic interpretation – the politics embedded in mundane objects must be considered as an important part of designing urban spaces.

We wish to present several snapshots, that albeit unique to Israeli culture, will hopefully trigger some thoughts in the imagination of everyone. As our world is rapidly changing, currents of cultures and people traversing borders and hateful agendas replace broadmindedness, material boundaries are one more step towards a segregated world.

instance 1: the materiality of religion

As we can see all around us, the materiality of space and architecture can take the form of mundane objects or mere materials. The political potential of these objects lies in their design transparency, enabling an added layer of meaning. In this case, the Eruv string is a simple string circling an urban living quarter. This religious solution enables the inhabitants to walk around the neighbourhood during Shabbat, while carrying objects. This is needed, since during Shabbat, religious Jews cannot transport objects, such as keys, for fear of violating the laws of Shabbat. T =he materiality of space here serves a dual purpose, it is functional for Jewish believers, while serving as an almost transparent boundary, symbolizing the identity of this space’s inhabitants. The Eruv is a manifestation of minimizing religious manifestation in the public sphere, since it is clear and present for a specific community, yet transparent and almost camouflaged for all the rest (secular or from other religions). Since this material manifestation is aesthetically minimalistic and materially transparent in its mundane essence, it is almost of no visual threat. Furthermore, it is not interpreted as a tactic of “religiousizing” the public sphere. On the other hand, albeit its invisible design and mundane materiality (it is hung 5m from the ground and is not considered as a physical barrier or border), the Eruv manifests a clear and uncrossed boundary. considering these attributes, the Eruv is in fact a burden to its community, yet a “light-weight” barrier to every other resident, creating a spatial oxymoron. In many cases, when the string is ruptured by the wind, the Jewish community members are asked not to leave their homes to keep the sanctity of Shabbat.

An Eruv string

Sharon Danzig

instance 2: the materiality of gender

The second example testifies to ever-growing gender segregation in various religious spaces around the world. The image was taken at the highly-popular tomb of Rabbi Yonatan ben-Uziel, one of Hillel’s disciples, at Amuka in northern Israel. As ben-Uziel died single, this site has become one of the most popular religious sites dedicated for finding a spouse, and especially so for women. Ben Uziel’s tomb is situated in the heart of the Galilea in a green and lush area. Women usually climb the tomb’s roof and circle the building’s small dome seven times to find a spouse. Signposts situated in the site’s parking lot greet the visitors, laconically leading men and women to the main site via separate and parallel routes. After a few metres, a tall plastic fence separates the genders completely. The fence ignores the topography and scenery completely, situated according to the whims of local religious representatives. Indeed, as in many cases of spatial materiality, the cheaper the boundary, the more its influence of its surrounding and visitors. The simplicity and mundane materiality of the fence led to its erection without any advice from professionals (such as architects or engineers) and leads to controlling the visitors de facto under religious supervision. Moreover, the main clients of the site, known for their belief – are women who find themselves excluded from this site through a simple material solution.

In the image we can see a simple wooden pole bearing two signs, indicating the way for men and women pilgrims. The simplicity of the signpost, almost bereft of design, imbues it with an almost territorial ability, imposing normative power on all.

Material manifestation in Choni Hame’agel’s tomb

Sharon Danzig

top: A cheap and simple sign reading ‘road for men only’ punctures the mountainous scenery to separate between men and women on their way toBen-Uziel’s tomb.

Sharon Danzig

This simple method can be seen in the ultraorthodox neighborhood of Mea She’arim in Jerusalem. Prior to various holidays (typically before Purim), various fences and separation bridges are erected to separate men and women, thus creating two public spheres – a masculine one and an adjacent feminine one. These simple, cheap borders are easy to erect and disassemble create a deep notion of spatial segregation. Through these simple boundaries, the local religious leadership maintain a highly efficient material system of controlled navigation through the streets. The graphic language of these borders is simple, clear and immediate, they function almost as an order. The linguistic and material scenery are married together to create a specific message – men and women must not mingle in our public sphere.

The neighborhood of Mea She’arim in Jerusalem; temporary walls denoting women’s and men’s domains.

Sharon Danzig

Sharon Danzig

instance 3 the politics of materiality

In Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975), Michel Foucault describes space as a repository of relationships of control. Indeed, the phenomenon of territorial segregation through found materials caught our eyes while conducting ethnographic research in the unrecognised settlements in Abu-Quaf, near Beer-Sheba. Almost every structure was surrounded and almost hermetically sealed by improvised fences. These spatial manifestations were a rather new occurrence. The eclectic choice of materials, their random built tactics and visual manifestation – simple and raw yet appealing and aesthetic – are curious and raise various questions. This material and spatial design, the result of a growing threat of movement, insecurity in their way of life and the institutional pressure to drive the Bedouin population to live in settlements, reveals a creative shift towards segregation and material boundaries. Trying to appropriate, even symbolically, their land, leads local Bedouins to almost camouflage their ancestral land, in the face of growing governmental stress. As a result, past tactics of segregation via natural topography gave way to improvised boundary-building through found and mundane materials such as old car tires, rusted chassis, scrap metals.

We can clearly recognize a material change in the Negev, brought by a clash between local culture and modern political processes. While the Bedouins, princes of free movement of the past, presently prison themselves behind makeshift fences, we can see a growing manifestation of spatial segregation. It seems that the meaningful pressure perpetrated by the government is taking its toll on local land owners, manifested in these instances of materiality. Facing this stress, the Bedouins use a fast, cheap and efficient material solution, manifested in found materials.

Fence near Tel Sheva in the Negev

Sharon Danig

Border between agricultural fields marked by car chassis, the Negev

Sharon Danig

Sheep pen west of Za’arura junction in the Negev

Sharon Danig

These images, below, show us the importance of temporality when dealing with the materiality of space and architecture. We can see that all the boundaries created in this space, on the northern beach of Tel-Aviv, are indeed temporary in nature. The run-of-the-mill monobloc chairs could be moved aside and the red-and-white tape taken down. However, to every person passing by it is crystal clear that this space is taken, spokenfor and, therefore, prohibited to use. While seemingly insignificant, this image mirrors a much broader phenomenon gaining popularity in the personal and national spheres – the evergrowing segregation and seclusion of spaces. This last image was taken during Israel’s Independence Day, manifested, among else by an aerial demonstration of the Israeli Air Force over the country’s coastline. Many spectators arrive and hold their place through a temporal marking of communal territory using a cheap marking tape or string. Every family or group of friends mark their territory, which sometimes include a no-man’s land buffer zone. This occupation of public space functions along the rule of ‘first comes first gets’. Early-arriving representatives mark their borders with light monobloc chairs, creating a three dimensional border. The rest of the group’s gear (tables, food, picnic things) will arrive later in the day with the rest of the group. This example, like the others, highlights another evolution in the tactics of seclusion and segregation of public space through material solutions. While previous examples were centred around institutional agencies, be it governmental or religious, this last example is different. This private occupation of public space manifests a willing, albeit temporal, initiative of individuals for segregation behind flimsy yet symbolic boundaries. Yet, all these examples show us the importance of materiality of space as an ongoing, sometimes violent, dialogue between individuals and institutionalised agencies.

Young man on a horse, El-Araquib

Sharon Danzig

Individual segregation in Tel Aviv

Sharon Danzig

A temporary hamlet in El-Araquib in current dispute between the government and local inhabitants

Sharon Danzig

Sharon Danzig is an industrial designer who has recently focussed on the study of diverse populations with distinct cultural and design characteristics, such as the Bedouin community, the Ethiopian community and the ultra-Orthodox communities both in Jerusalem and Eastern Europe. He is the co-writer, with Jonathan Ventura and Haim Yacobi, of Fortified Design, the political role of urban design in the transformation of urban and rural, central and peripheral, formal and informal landscapes in Israel.

Jonathan Ventura is a design anthropologist specialising in healthcare design theories and methodologies. He teaches at the Department of Inclusive Design at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem and in the Design Graduate Program at Shenkar - Engineering, Design, Art in Ramat Gan, Israel. He is a visiting researcher at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art, London UK.