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Urban master plan research for the "Independence Park", Jerusalem
The "Independence Park" in Jerusalem city center is a site that tells a story of architectural contradictions in a city saturated with disputes. It is wrapped with many layers from different times, materials, and typologies that suffer a sever lack of a coherent dialogue. Nevertheless, It functions as the main and only public open space in the city center, situated 400 meters from the old city gates. The fact that all the buildings that surround the park turns their rear facade to it makes it impossible to comprehend its limits.
The objective of the scheme was to turn the park from a backyard into a central inner court at the heart of the city. Like the city walls, we aimed to turn the site into a place that has defined borders, however, unlike the city walls, it is not fenced or closed but holds new borders that are to be created from the layers and objects that surround it.
Our analysis referred to all the buildings around the park as if they were built in order to define it. First, by separating and distinguishing the buildings into chronological layers, and then by drawing only the buildings that tangent the park at each period at a time and connecting them with a line. Pursuant to the new context created among the buildings, an entire new surface was born defining new borders to the site. For the design process, the method of super position was used in tow techniques:
2d superposition, which is a Juxtaposition of the layers and phases to get a spatial border line. Every-time that a certain layer tangent the park, a radial line was drawn to create a "reaction" of the park to its defining layer.
3d superposition, which is an extrusion of the layers in three different ways to create three different organizational situations:
A transparent system, an opaque wall system and a mass system. These three systems were then laid on the site as each one of them represents a specific element in the layout.
Design architects: Arc. Liran Chechick
Arc. Nitzan Kalush Chechick
Type: thesis project
Dimensions: 120,000 sqm built area on a 25sqkm plot.