Report - Final Proposal
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Transcript of Report - Final Proposal
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Scope of Study
The following report is a Master I. studio project
concerning urban Architectural Design and City
Planning.
The studio project aims to develop suitable
proposal for the city of Haifa, in particular the site
of the Memorial Park.
This report is based on research and appraisal in
key areas of social, cultural, political and economic
context which guide the building construction.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Content
1/ Introduction
2/ History
3/ Planning & Agendas
4/ Society & Culture
5/ Religion
6/ Nature
7/ Economy
8/ Technology
10/ Interference
9/ Ark - Arche - Archive
11/ Studio Work
12/ References
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
INTRODUCTION
As the future prosperity of Haifa largely depends
on improving relations with the neighbours, the
aim of the project is to identify the key area for
potential consensus and come up with a proposal
which promotes social & cultural cohesion at the
local level - acting as a precedent for the entire
region. The site represents an opportunity to
approach the Near East conflict beyond the
political agendas and address the 'troubles' from
the bottom up - by creating a space which shall
forge a new attitude based on principles of an
'open city'. As the dialog is not likely to be initiated
in the capital neither the religious centre of the
country, it could be Haifa for its record of peaceful
coexistence which can become a key actor in the
peace process.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
HISTORY
Two major shifts of status of the regional
importance:
1/ During the Ottoman Period in 1860’s because of
European siege on Acco consulates and merchants
moved to Haifa.
2/ Since the War of Independence in 1948,
regional importance has moved from Haifa to Tel-
Aviv the capital of a new national state.
During the British Mandate - the city was planned
and developed for purposes of the British Empire
as a strategic industrial and commercial centre of
Palestine. Development of the seaport, railway
junction, oil pipeline to Iraq and refinery before
the WWII attracted large number of new residents
and established the city as a gateway and
transport hub into the entire region.
As a result of political conflicts with surrounding
countries, despite key role of Haifa during building
the nation state and substantial influx of
inhabitants during that period, the city has lost its
significance for the new capital located to the
south, further from the state borders with
alienated countries. While Jerusalem is considered
as the religious city and Tel-Aviv the bourgeois,
Haifa has a reputation of the workers' city.
PLANNING & AGENDAS
The first regulatory document for the city dates
back to the colonial period. The Skeleton Zoning
Scheme was produced in 1934 and introduced
modernist planning principles including the
concept of Green Belt and Garden City. Despite
that there have been two other masterplans
proposed in 1950's and 1960's, none of them have
been approved as the colonial zoning plan created
suitable conditions for the nation state strategies.
While colonial attempts to transform the city were
made in the name of modern urban planning, the
national endeavour was based on a far-reaching
political agenda. (Kolodney and Kallus, 2008)
As a result, the Old City and the oldest
neighbourhood Wadi Salib were completely
erased and the development took direction
towards hardly accessible slopes and sometimes
isolated locations on the Mount Carmel.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
SOCIETY & CULTURE
Haifa today has a population of 266,300. The
population of Haifa today is 80% Israeli Jews, 4%
Muslim, 6% Christian Arab, and 10% members of
other faiths or nonreligious (the vast majority
being immigrants from the former Soviet Union).
As the Jewish residents are ageing and youth leave
the city, the proportion of Arabic people is
growing.
The inner-city neighbourhoods are relatively
homogeneous - Wadi Nisnas, Abbas and Halissa
represent concentration of the Arab life in the city,
while in Hadar, the most of people speak Russian
because of the latest immigration of Jewish from
the countries of the former Soviet Union in the
1990s. The oldest city neighbourhood Wadi Salib
remains abandoned with many houses in ruins or
boarded up.
Modern population of Haifa, particularly the
Jewish community counts people from all corners
of the world. Haifa is thus similarly multicultural
and diverse as Brussels in Belgium, Melbourne in
Australia or Auckland in New Zealand to name a
few. Despite that people of Haifa have earned the
city’s reputation of peaceful coexistence; this has
not been formally encouraged by planning
strategies nor expressed through the Architecture.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
RELIGION
Religion is a socio-cultural phenomenon which has
played an important role in the city and the region.
Haifa is home to all four Abrahamic religions:
Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahai faith. All
of these share in common the Torah as an initial
sacred text. As the history of religion refers to
written record of human religious experiences and
ideas, the beginning of this period is related to the
invention of writing.
Writing is an extension of the human language and
represents means for transmitting information
across the time and space. By definition, the
modern practice of history begins with written
records; evidence of human culture without
writing is the realm of prehistory. Sacred
scriptures allowed the Jewish and other ethnic and
religious groups to preserve their history and
identity over long periods of time in disparate
parts of the world. Despite that religion represents
one of the main differences between the Jewish
and the Arabs; it also defines the basic principles
and origins which are common for the both – the
sacred scriptures.
Looking for an underlying principle or root of
existing things leads to arche which refers to the
beginnings of Philosophy or a shift from the
mythological to rational explanation of the world
phenomena based on logical arguments. The word
arche is akin to the Noah’s Ark and also to its
newer version – the archive. Archive is a repository
of information which provides evidence about the
history and source of information for the future
generations.
NATURE
According to Kevin Lynch, people perceive cities as
consisting of underlying city form “elements” such
as path, edge, node, landmark and district. In one
of his studies, most people mention water and
vegetation, as those kinds of elements which give
a strong image. (Lynch, K., 1960) Abundance of
greenery and the water in particular is one of the
most important features, which define the city - it
is the edge of the city - a place where another
world begins. Except from the neighbourhood of
Bat Galim, this natural phenomenon represents a
missed opportunity.
The greatest opportunity lays in the seaside,
particularly the area stretching from Bat Galim to
the Port's Customs House, which remains fenced
as an industrial zone belonging to the Port of
Haifa. This area represents a missed opportunity
to reconnect the city to the water and promote it
as a public space belonging to all avoiding the
tiring political, religious and other themes.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
ECONOMY
"We are on our own here, if something breaks
down…"
Despite its strategic gateway location, the country
is an island in terms of energy infrastructure. Since
1948, the British-built pipeline to Haifa remained
dormant, it symbolizes dead end situation of the
city within the country and the country within the
Near East. The issue of oil becomes more and
more critical with each passing year, for Western
democracies in general, and for Israel in particular.
Oil coming through the existing infrastructure
could provide a much-needed break for the
flagging local economy.
TECHNOLOGY
In order to compensate limited access to natural
resources, there has been a greater emphasis on
research and development of new technologies.
Haifa as a part of Silicon Wadi - the cluster of high-
tech cities became recognized worldwide for its
achievements in Computer Science. Development
of new technologies and quality education at the
Technion and University of Haifa, can make the
city attractive also for students from the whole
Near East. Young generation from neighbouring
countries would help to establish an open
international atmosphere.
DOWNTOWN
Growth of the information technologies and the
advanced transportation systems has triggered a
shift from a state-centred world of boundaries to a
city-centred world of flows. The cities increasingly
depend on the level of integration within the
global city network. (GaWC, Loughborough
University) As the businesses and important
companies move from Haifa to Tel-Aviv, the city
struggles to keep skilled professionals which
attract advanced producer companies. Except
from the government institutions and the Port,
there is very little which can bring them to the
Downtown. Difficult topography and the fact that
the key city assets - shopping centres, two
universities and the IT technology park are
scattered around the city, cause problems with
accessibility and movement.
Spatial and social disintegration was exacerbated
by constructing a new market closer to the Jewish
neighbourhood Hadar. More recently there has
been a trend of constructing shopping facilities
closer to more affluent neighbourhoods on the
Mount Carmel or in the city outskirts. As there is
none or very little of what would remind of a truly
public pedestrian active area, there are initiatives
to reanimate the city by making the Downtown
more attractive for the young generation. The
downtown fails to fulfil a basic function of
contemporary city centres as a space of cultural
consumption.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
CONCLUSION
To conclude this analysis, one could argue that the
city has suffered from political and socio-cultural
issues exacerbated by the modernist planning,
declining economy and difficult topography which
have torn the urban fabric and its people apart. As
a result, the city took shape of a poorly integrated
system, which largely depends on the car travel.
The city is characteristic by a non-linear street
pattern following the topographical contours,
serpentines, loops but also dead ends. The existing
integrating factors of the city - such as staircases
interconnecting the streets, open public spaces,
public transport and the civic facilities – appear to
be outdated, insufficient or completely missing.
Erasing the existing and overlaying by new, events
of the 20th century uprooted a large part of the
city identity which caused a social and cultural
discontinuity. However, well-balanced cities
provide a balance between the new and old,
renewal and preservation, between innovation
and tradition; we believe that this gap between
the past and the recent history is one of the main
causes severing the image of the city. Even though
Haifa can be proud of the progressive Bauhaus
architecture brought during the British Mandate,
the city identity and roots of the cultural heritage
of the local people reach further into the history.
SPATIAL STRATEGIES
We propose three basic strategies:
01/ Integrate the city through improving the
existing and adding new public spaces and
pedestrian routes. (Space Syntax)
02/ Regenerate the area of Wadi Salib. The oldest
neighbourhood of city, which remains derelict,
should be listed as part of the state cultural
heritage and restored as a university
accommodation.
03/ Reducing need of car travel by improving the
public transport and continually encouraging the
single use areas and campuses to move their
departments into the Downtown.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Space Syntax Analysis of Integration
The graph shows that the German Colony - the
area between the Port and the Baha’i Gardens - is
the most integrated part of the city. The
competition site is indicated black.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Space Syntax Integration As Proposed
The city can be reintegrated by enhancing existing
and adding new connections. Red indicates the
most integrated parts of the city.
1/ improving pedestrian connections around the
competition site towards the Old City
2/ Establishing a strong link between the Hertzl
Street to the Grand Canyon – a future gateway to
residential areas on the Mount Carmel
3/ creating a bridge to the neighbourhood Neve
Sha’anan
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
THE SITE
Despite that the waterfront area has got a great
potential to integrate the local people avoiding the
political, religious and other tiring themes, the
scope of our project is to come with future
scenario for El Burj. Situated at the intersection of
the civic and cultural axes, history of the site is
associated with a fortress which used to overlook
the seaport and the Old City. As the fortress
remained unbuilt since its demolition in , the site
represents a neutral space located amidst the
main character areas - Old City, Hadar, Wadi Salib
and Wadi Nisnas. Situated at the boundaries of
these strained Downtown areas, El Burj thus
represents a natural destination for a civic space,
which could act as a local landmark and place of an
overlapping interest. We suggest that
development of the regional archives surrounded
by a library and a new open public space shall
successfully revise the memorial meaning of the
site and reinstate a link between the past and
future. Same as the old seaport used to be an
integral part of the city, importance of the site can
be extended through a public library – the main
access point to the information and digital
highway which connects the city to the world.
Promoting Haifa as a gateway city, our proposal
aims to create regional archives as a place with
ambient and respectful atmosphere, which would
be acting as the functional memorial. It will find its
place in the city much faster and better than
conventional memorials which could be pushing a
finger into historical wounds. Let the history be
present in the city but in more rational way. Our
intention is to connect the archives with
contemporary library which assumes multiple
social responsibilities. The civic space will become
a lifestyle destination where people get a chance
to meet each in a casual or intellectual
atmosphere.
We let the existing topography impact on the
design using local features such as staircases and
terraces, that will interconnect the library with a
plaza attracting people to enter the site. We want
to translate this idea onto a distorted pattern
reminding of a maze to let people get lost and
found thmeselve again in this new public realm.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Ark – Archē – Archive
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
ARK
Main Entry: ark Etymology: Middle English, from Old English arc, from Latin arca chest; akin to Latin arcēre to hold off, defend, Greek arkein, Hittite hark- to have, hold Date: before 12th century 1 a : a boat or ship held to resemble that in which Noah and his family were preserved from the Flood b : something that affords protection and safety 2 a : the sacred chest representing to the Hebrews the presence of God among them b : a repository traditionally in or against the wall of a synagogue for the scrolls of the Torah
ARCHE Main Entry: arch- Etymology: Middle English arche-, arch-, from Old English & Anglo-French; Old English arce-, from Late Latin arch- & Latin archi-; Anglo-French arch-, from Late Latin arch- & Latin archi- from Greek arch-, archi-, from archein to begin, rule; akin to Greek archē beginning, rule, archos ruler 1 : chief : principal <archfiend> 2 : extreme : most fully embodying the qualities of the kind <archconservative> Arche is a Greek word with primary senses 'beginning', 'origin' or 'first cause' and 'power', 'domination' as extended meanings.[1] This list is extended to 'ultimate underlying substance' and 'ultimate undemonstrable principle'.[2] In the language of the archaic period (8th-6th century BC) arche (or archai) designates the source, origin or root of things that exist. If a thing is to be well established or founded, its arche or starting point must be secure. In the ancient Greek Philosophy: Aristotle forgrounded the meaning of arche as the element or principle
ARCHIVE Main Entry: 1ar·chive
of a thing, which although ndemonstrable and intangible in itself, provides the conditions of the possibility of that thing. [3]
Etymology: French & Latin; French, from Latin archivum, from Greek archeion government house (in plural, official documents), from archē rule, government — more at ARCH- Date: 1603 1 : a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved; also : the material preserved —often used in plural 2 : a repository or collection especially of information Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information. Revolutionary milestone which stood at the beginning of the Western science was introducing Arabic numerals by Fibonacci. The word algorithm derives from algorism, which is the technique of performing basic arithmetic by writing numbers in decimal positional notation. Computer science finds its roots in algorithmic processes that create, describe, and transform information. Similarly as a path through a city or a maze, algorithm is a list of instructions for completing a task - starting from an initial state, the instructions describe series of successive states. In the context of a city it is necessary, that this transition from one place to the next is not deterministic.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
TRADITIONAL MORPHOLOGY Instead of planning a trip ahead with a map or using
a GPS as we got used to today, orientation in cities
which evolved naturally relied on following the
longest visibility sightlines and use of intuition.
Images show that layouts of a traditional Arabic
neighbourhood and one example of a medieval
town in Europe – both carry similar feature of a
distorted grid. In order to find the way, one moves
around an open space to explore the sightlines of
alternative paths. The routes across the site allow
the pedestrians to let themselves guided by their
intuition when finding their route and to explore
alternative paths. Situating the entries onto the
diagonal of the plaza shall encourage people to
enter into the library.
ARABIC
Introverted buildings
Narrow corridors with minimum of open public
space to protect from hot climate
EUROPEAN
Perimeter blocks with main facades oriented
towards the street or open plazas
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
Studio Work
It is not down in any map; true places never are.
(Herman Melville)
As the resources about the city were primarily
electronic and experiences of the local
phenomena, atmospheres, rhythms and ways of
how the local people use the space were mediated
by others or electronically, there had been a
tendency to process the information in more
general than particular way. Despite that we
haven’t arrived to by all means detail design, this
studio project has shown how multifaceted and
complex design and redevelopment of the built
environment is and how to compensate the
limited access to information.
Group 05: Q Foccaert, P Matuszek, M Mikus & L Pinson
Master of Architecture I. - Theoretical Component of uAD Studio with Martine de Maeseneer, Nel Janssens & Koen de Wandeler School of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels 2009/2010
REFERENCES
Zohar, A