Himo Family
Revital Saga, 2007-2008
Following the unification of Jerusalem in 67’ one of the main desires was to create social and architectural homogeneous identity to Jerusalem as a whole. Planners were asked to manifest the unification by implementing statutory planning of the Israeli government within the new juristic planning area of Jerusalem. One way of achieving this purpose was to appropriate land around the city which contained the least of Palestinians inhabitants. Therefore many Palestinians’ villages were only partially appropriated.
The eastern Jerusalem inhabitants were introduced to a new reality. The character of the population changed as well as the familiar lifestyle. Ramallah became the main cultural and economical center and most of the resources of the Palestinian society transferred from East Jerusalem and the Muslim quarter in the Old City to the west bank causing a major deterioration of the inhabitants living situation under the Israeli authorities. Most of the urban development in the following years based on the urban plan by the British city Engineer of Alexandria, William McLean, 1918. McLean’s plan aimed at preserving the Old City and the Kidron Valley (East Jerusalem), while developing areas to the west and north. In addition to that strategy the new Jewish satellite neighborhoods were developed rapidly.
According to McLean’s plan building was also forbidden in the area adjoining the Old City walls. This policy is applied up till today causing the degeneration of the functions and forms that were the characteristics of the city for centuries.
The current planning principles which were based on the mandatory British Western perceptions are utterly different than the local ones of the Palestinians and major part of the new Jewish Immigrants coming from the Middle East and North Africa resulting discrepancy between the existential needs, the way of life of the inhabitants and the planning regulations.
The inhabitants at the Muslim quarter in the old city and East Jerusalem are facing a strict set of rules limiting their ability to develop, build houses or enlarge the essential infrastructure. Nevertheless the development continues in illegal and informal ways. This non official development has created its own elaborated set of rules and dynamic enables the inhabitants to resolve immediate problems and necessities.
The Himo family lives in the Old City by Damascus Gate over the last two generations. As the family enlarges and no sufficient housing solution is being provide by the municipality, since receiving building permit inside the old city is almost impossible and moving outsides the walls is culturally limited, an individual act took place. Himo, knowing that a house built on top of an existing one will not be demolished, built without permit directly on top of the historical houses. He was arrested for his actions, nonetheless ensured his family future.
In the project the problematic idea based of the McLean’s ‘rule’ defining a certain distance between the houses the Historical walls contain the solution within. The perpetuation of the ‘Barriers’, private ones, historical walls, and the separation wall creating an eternal separation, nevertheless creating potential space for infrastructures as movement, circulation and building structure system that could be implied even in an urban scale.