I just returned from a week-long charrette in the village of Al Aqaba in the Palestine West Bank about which I wrote you and Andres. We designed new houses for very poor, displaced, and infirm families, some living as multiple families in one small home, and developed a rather simple Village Plan for its long term growth from a tiny hamlet subject to periodic demolition (it's entry road was recently torn up) to a resilient, healthy, and relatively self-sufficient settlement. The international Charrette Team, mostly volunteer, was assembled and sponsored by Rebuilding Alliance, an NGO led by Donna Baranski-Walker, who has built a kindergarten and a business space both in operation in Al Aqaba, and both under threat of demolition. Al Aqaba mayor Haj Sami, a paraplegic from age 16 from an accidental shooting by Israeli troops during training, has been a tireless advocate for peaceful coexistence for his people in general, and specifically, for the villagers of Al Aqaba. He still suffers daily from a bullet lodged near his heart, but is pained more by the continual threats of demolition that appear to coincide with the construction of new, illegal settlements.
However, we were not able to design buildings incorporating the traditional building practices and materials, despite the abundance of limestone throughout the region, primarily because of costs and the bias of local engineers and builders who favor concrete block and reinforced concrete. My last evening in Ramallah, the team dined in the home of Sameh and Nada Abboushi, he a retired but very active architect and she, sister of activist Hanan Ashrawi (Nada developed a successful children's music school in the city that sends young, talented musicians to play around the world). With Sameh, charrette architect Hanni Hassen, and perhaps advocates such as urban scholar Besim Hakim, we intend to promote traditional and alternative, adaptive building design in the region.
I believe that, in order to demonstrate to both Palestinian and Israeli architects, engineers, policy-makers, builders, and the public, we must actually build structures that can use local materials and labor, to prove their economic, environmental, social, and aesthetic value. Might this effort interest the Prince's Foundation? We intend to continue our efforts to help design, finance, and build homes and supporting structures by enlisting the assistance of others, including Israeli's, Palestinians, and Americans - maybe even AIA members, but your organization boasts an unprecedented track record. I use "we" but it will be primarily the Palestinians who will walk the talk. For me, this effort allows us to serve in a direct and meaningful way, without becoming consumed in the tensions of a political struggle that's been unfolding for decades. Of course, I get to leave at the end of the day.
I used to joke that we should be able to charrette by can delight if necessary, and in Al Aqaba, we we grateful for the long, sunny days, trace paper, and pens. You can read my past daily updates at the NCI Blog on the National Charrette Institute website, under Rebuilding a Future in Palestine.
Steve
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Stephen Coyle AIA LEED
Principal
Town-Green
Oakland CA
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