The history of architecture in the Palestine/Land of Israel since the second half of the 19th century is actually the history of land settlement and of the socio-cultural, political, economic and technological development of the various societies that lived and most of which still live here. The need for familiarity with the course of the architectural development, since the last days of the Ottoman period, requires extensive cultural understanding. It serves as the basis for clarifying the various processes that have taken place in Israel until now and for discerning their impacts on modern and contemporary architecture.
The tension between East and West, between the indigenous and the imported, is manifested even in the built physical aspects of Israeli culture, quite often dwelling together in one consciousness and even in the same site or structure.
This course provides a chronological survey of planning and building in Palestine/ Land of Israel as an expression of these divergent approaches.
 
Photo: Hayarkon Street – Tel Aviv, 30s, looking south

This course constitutes a broad introduction to planning in built, and often vulnerable, environments, with the intention of becoming familiar with them, assessing them and executing appropriate plans and development processes.
Frontal lectures and practical exercises take place in studio classes. The sites are chosen by teams of two or three students each. These practical sessions are dedicated to lectures that expand on the course topics being studied and encourage in-depth discussion on them.
The learning activities are devoted to guidance and instruction, criticism and explanation of the tasks continuing from lesson to lesson. The instruction is given by two mentors, sometimes together and sometimes separately.
 

Course Objectives:

• Imparting knowledge and tools for practical implementation of the research and documentation processes of heritage sites in a built environment for the purpose of estimating their varying values.
• Integration of the acquired knowledge and values for the purpose of designing a planning program for preservation and development.
• Preparation of the theoretical and practical infrastructure toward appropriate planning in a built historic environment.

 
Illustration: Arch. Orly Even