The Jaffa Road Studio, Jerusalem

The studio will focus on a key site—or two or three—along a historic street that terminates at one of the gates to the walled city of Jerusalem. Historic Jaffa Road served as the ancient highway connecting Jerusalem to the Mediterranean. A one-mile segment of this historic pathway today passes through and connects several contemporary and historic commercial and residential neighborhoods of modern Jerusalem. The studio will proceed in two parts. We will spend the first part of the semester studying and recommending improvements to this key urban street; from Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate to a recently completed monumental bridge by Santiago Calatrava. The bridge establishes a new gateway to the city from the highway that today connects Jerusalem to the Mediterranean Coast and Tel Aviv. The majority of the semester will be devoted to producing a specific design for an important area along Jaffa Road recently designated for high-density development. A trip to Jerusalem in planned.
Ofer Manor will serve as a consultant for this studio.