WORKSHOP Assignment: The remodeling of the Shorouq Center in Al-Azariya (Bethany). The project included the re-design of the interior, the design of an addition and the re-design of the roof to become a useful element in terms of social activity, tourism, small enterprise, and to shade and passively cool the Center.
WORKSHOP Leaders: Mai Haseba (Architect, Palestinian Authority), Dan Price (Architect, Israel), Ziad Jallad (Architect, Palestinian Authority). Consultant: Gilad Rosezweig (Architect, Israel).
WORKSHOP Team: Listovskaya Irina, Prentou Polyxeni (Polina), Yacoby Yael, Zevi Laura, Ranad Shqeirat, Valitutto Irene, Michael Rozio, and Tal Blumberg-Mandel.
The Shorouq Charitable Society for Women is a Palestinian nonprofit organization, officially established in 2002 to improve the status and empower women and allow them to play an active role in society. The center seeds and cultivates independent, women owned small businesses. The center is located near the historic center of Al-Azariya, west of Abu Dis and Jerusalem. Al-Azariya is of historic significance to Christians as the location of the miracle of Lazarus. The Center is housed in a small rented building. The building has very poor insulation, inadequate ventilation and does not meet the Center’s basic needs. A small grant from the Embassy of Belgium allowed the Center to renovate and expand its facilities. An abandoned property adjacent to the Center, comprising of an old stone building built around an open courtyard with two large vaulted rooms in excellent condition and a small attached dilapidated building. Shorouq is considering leasing this property and adjoining it to the existing Center. The ECOWEEK Workshop team considered this possibility in its design proposals. The Workshop team developed two phases: the first included the existing property, and the second a possible extension to the adjacent property. This implied moving the formal entrance to the Center, thus allowing handicap access and parking for tour buses. The Workshop team developed three alternative floor plans. In consultation with Shorouq, the best plan was chosen and further developed towards implementation.
The Workshop group also developed strategies to improve the environmental performance of the Center: Alternative A introduced a clearstory for better ventilation, light and insulation. Alternative B introduced a shading pergola over the existing building which would shade the building and offer useful outdoor space on the roof. The selected, alternative B, proposed covering the building with a pergola and vine, shading the building during the summer and exposing it to the sunlight during the winter. The roof vine is a familiar element of traditional Palestinian Architecture and would offer the Center additional outdoor space on the roof. The vine would also support the local women economy providing abundant quantities of grape leaves for cooking and catering. The Workshop team considered the use of local materials, local building skills, the extreme climate and the limited budget. Most importantly, the team made every effort to express the ideals inherent in the Shorouq Center: the respect, independence and empowerment of Palestinian women, hoping that the design for the Center would address core issues of functionality, dramatically improve the environmental and comfort conditions and create a building which will become a source of pride to the Palestinian women.
Following the completion of the ECOWEEK 2010 Workshops, the project was carried out by a Palestinian architect, issuing permits and preparing structural and working drawings, in consultation with the ECOWEEK group. The project was built and inaugurated - except for the roof pergola - in 2011 with the support of the Embassy of Belgium.
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