DESIGNING THE OPEN SPACE OF THE OLD PORT OF TEL-AVIV – 1998
THIS PROPOSAL REVERSES THE ORIGINAL PREMISE OF A PORT WHERE ELEMENTS ARRIVE FROM THE WATER TO THE LAND, BY ATTRACTING PEOPLE FROM THE LAND TO COME TO THE WATER.
THE OLD PORT OF TEL-AVIV IS A COLLECTION OF A LARGE VARIETY OF EXISTING CONDITIONS, JUXTAPOSING EACH OTHER IN AN ARBITRARY MANNER. YEARS OF URBAN GROWTH AND ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY BROUGHT THE SITE TO A STATUS OF HISTORICAL URBAN PARAPHERNALIA. CONTINUOUS CITY PLANNING OVERSIGHT GENERATED A MYRIAD OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES FOR SITE REHABILITATION, WHICH TURN THE ONGOING DEGRADATION INTO A PERMANENT CONDITION. THE SITE AS A SEA- PORT IS ONLY A MEMORY, MERELY HISTORICAL CONTEXT. ITS RUN-DOWN BUILDINGS, OPEN SPACES AND OTHER EXISTING STRUCTURES MAINTAIN NO CONNECTION TO THE SEA, NOR TO THE CITY. IT IS AN INDEPENDENT ENCLAVE OF MISCELLANEOUS URBAN ANECDOTES.
THE EXISTING ARRAY OF DIFFERENT CONDITIONS AND THE SITE’S LACK OF CHARACTER IS THE TRIGGER FOR THE CONCEPT OF THIS PROPOSAL.
THE DESIGN ATTEMPTS TO BE SURGICALLY CAREFUL AND OVERPOWERING AT THE SAME TIME, IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN SOME OF THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE ORIGINAL PLACE, LEAVE THE EXISTING UNTOUCHED, AND YET, GIVING IT A STRONG APPEARANCE WHILE PROVIDING ANSWERS TO A LARGE AND DEMANDING PROGRAM.
THE CORE ELEMENT OF THE DESIGN IS THE PIER, THE BASIC INGREDIENT OF A PORT. BEING REPRESENTED AS A PLATFORM, EACH ONE WILL CARRY A DIFFERENT PROGRAM AND WILL ADAPT ITSELF ACCORDINGLY. THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF THE PLATFORM AND ITS MATERIALITY WILL MAKE IT EASILY ADJUSTABLE TO ITS LOCATION ON THE SITE. EVERY PLATFORM WILL BE SUBJECTED TO CHANGES IN LOCATION, SIZE, PROGRAM AND PHASING. A MAIN AXIS HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, TO CONNECT THE MANY AREAS OF THE PORT, TO REINFORCE THE MISSING CONNECTION BETWEEN THE HARBOR AND THE WATER AND TO CONNECT THE MANY NEW PLATFORMS SPREAD AROUND THE SITE. IT IS VISIBLE UPON ENTRY TO THE SITE AND PRESENTS A STRONG ALTERNATIVE TO THE EXISTING ONES.
THE JUXTAPOSITION OF VARIED PROGRAMS ON ADJACENT PLATFORMS IS A REFLECTION OF URBAN LIFE: THE WATER WITH ROCK CLIMBING, CINEMA WITH DINING, JOGGING WITH COMMUNITY GARDENING, SCUBA DIVING PRACTICE WITH A BAR. PEOPLE WILL BE SPECTATORS AND ACTORS AT THE SAME TIME, THE VOYEUR AND THE EXHIBITIONIST AT ONCE.
THE PROPOSED SOLUTION, IN FACT, IS A UNIFYING FRAMEWORK THAT PROVIDES FLEXIBLE ANSWERS FOR DIFFERENT GIVEN CONDITIONS, AN ENHANCEMENT OF URBAN ENVIRONMENT, WITHIN A CONTEXTUAL FRAMEWORK.
THE PLACE IS DEDICATED TO PEDESTRIANS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE BACK ROAD OF THE SITE THAT WILL REMAIN A VEHICULAR ROUTE IN ORDER TO ASSURE MAINTENANCE OF THE EXISTING ENTITIES. PARKING FACILITIES ON THE EDGES OF THE SITE WILL PROVIDE THE NEEDED PARKING SPACES. A PLATFORM THAT CONTAINS A BUS STATION AND SUBWAY STATION WILL BE LOCATED AT THE PORT’S ENTRY.
SINCE THE PLATFORMS ARE BUILT ON THE ACTUAL GROUND ON THE SITE, MINIMUM DEMOLITION AND SITE WORK ARE REQUIRED, A FACT THAT WILL KEEP THE ENTIRE PROJECT AT A LOW BUDGET. THE PROPOSED VOCABULARY OF MATERIALS AND DESIGNED ELEMENTS STEMS FROM THE INDUSTRIAL CHARACTER OF THE PORT, AS IT STEMS FROM THE NEED TO BE EASILY ADAPTED.