5/21/2012

Zula settlement, Shapira Neighbourhood, South Tel Aviv

Typical "zula" settlement at Shapira neighbourhood, South Tel Aviv, erected by Shlomi Cohen, a 17 years old adolescent (in the picture with his girlfriend). On the right side of the picture: two vans in a "back to back" configuration

11/23/2011

SABA in India - Summer 2011

On September 2011, SABA moved for a summer semester in India. The program was held in collaboration with the Architecture Faculty at CEPT University Ahmedabad and the Chandigarh College of Architecture. 

Faculty
The semester faculty was composed by a large team of teachers from Bezalel, CEPT and CCA, as well as by a team of retired local professionals (farmers, masons, carpenters, and weaver) who shared their experience with us (in order of appearance): 
Sharon Rotbard, Elisheva Levy, Neelkanth Chhaya, Akbar Nazim Modan, Parth Shah, Sangeeta Bagga, Deepika Gandhi, Priyanka Singh, Yatin Pandyia, Ayub Sherasiya, Karshanbai, Sanjibai, and Gittabenn. 

Travelling Workshop
The first part of the program was dedicated to a travelling workshop in Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and New Delhi, in which the studio investigated some of India’s architectures (modernist experiments, historical heritage, contemporary architecture, questioned its own practices and possibilities of travelling and movement (tourism, backpacking, architectural tourism, dérive), and researched and documented local sample s of spontaneous architectures and unofficial technologies in cities, slums and villages. 

Halvad Workshop
In the second part of the semester SABA moved to the Center for Rural Knowledge near Halwad, a small town in Surendranagar district, Gujarat. 
The Center for Rural Knowledge is located on the border of a semi-desert area, 15 km from the Little Ran of Kutch and 5km from Halwad, a small town (30,000 inhabitants) which serves mainly as a center and marketplace for the farmers in the area. It Is a non-profit organization that had been founded by the Indian Center for Environmental Education, in the framework of various aid and self-aid actions initiated in the region after the 2001 earthquake. Since 2007, the center moved to a small experimental farm with a small campus by the architect Neelkanth Chhaya, who designed few other CEE campuses in Gujarat. 

The Center for Rural Knowledge, Halvad
The Center assures various types of activities: Aid for local farmers and study, research and development of new technologies of sustainable agriculture (soil improvement, irrigation, fertilization); economical education and empowering of women groups from the region, mainly through micro-banking and the promotion of home industries; various educative activities for the region’s children. 

Children’s Corner
SABA was asked to locate a children’s corner within the farm’s compound, and to design and to build 4 open classrooms of 15 m2. Each classroom should have “one floor, one wall, one roof”, and further specification – general activities, library, rest place, computer stand – were added by the Center’s personnel. 
The design and building process was done in 20 days, in the spirit of Gandhi’s Village Swaraj – self work, local materials, no machines. The students financed the materials and tools costs, about $300 per classroom. 

Participants
Jonathan Alon, Tamar Alon, Itai Bechor, Ayelet Ben David, Inbal Helzer, Alon Itzkin, Yael Johnson, Rajendra Menaria, Keren Christina Mendjul, Aleksei Noskov, Matan Pisante, Mevaseret Recanati, Michal Rosenfeld, Fouad Salem, Ronen Sarudi, Tali Serebro, Tal Tomer, Oded Wieder 

11/22/2011

גרופ הֶ - קבוצה מספר 2
























































הספריה:

מבנה בצורת L, בעל תוכנית סימטרית ופתוחה בהשפעת ה"דומינו" של לה קורבוזיה.
מסת קיר בדרום ומולו ספסל המשמש לישיבה מפנים המבנה כמו גם מחוצה לו.

הקיר, העשוי אבן מקומית מסותתת, מכיל נישות המשמשות כמדפי ספרים העשויים פריקסט בטון מזוין. הקיר המסיבי נבנה מדרום למבנה על מנת להצל על המבנה ולאפשר כניסת אור צפוני הנעים לקריאה. עמודי המבנה וקורותיו עשויות סנאדות אקליפטוס, כך שכל החומרים שנבחרו לבניית הפרוייקט הינם חומרים מקומיים וזולים.




The Library
A "L" shaped structure, with an open and symmetrical program, influenced by the "Domino" of Le Corbusier.
A massive wall in the south, and in front of it there's a bench used for sitting from the inner space as well as from the outer space of the stracture.
The wall, made of local and chiseled stones, includes reinforced concrete precast niches, that are used as shelves for books.
The massive wall was built in the south aspect of the structure in order to shade the inner space and to enable the penetration of soft northern light which is comfortable for reading.
The structure's pillars and beams are made of Eucalyptus wood. All the selected materials for this project were cheap and local materials.