Arieh Sharon > New Forms of an Ancient Ideal - Kibbutz Planning 1940-1947

New Forms of an Ancient Ideal - Kibbutz Planning 1940-1947 Galleries

Introduction : PREV                                                                                                  1 of 6                                                                                                                   Next ... At the same time as we young architects were fighting to improve the urban character of Tel Aviv, I found myself faced with another challenge: planning the new kibbutzim, which had grown in numbers, size and configuration. Many of my weekends I spent either in my old kibbutz, Gan Shmuel, or in newly founded settlements in Galilee and Samaria. In the old kibbutzim existing buildings had to be extended and new buildings added. In the young settlements there was a need for master plans. My Tel Aviv colleagues used to make fun of me about my craze for the kibbutz, and criticized me for devoting so much time to "idealistic" kibbutz planning, instead of concentrating on designing better buildings for the Tel Aviv bourgeoisie. My kibbutz activities were intensified when World War II broke out, and building operations in the towns all but stopped. Our life pattern changed. My wife and her repertory theatre group played in the small townlets and agricultural settlements, while I was busy planning and building in the kibbutzim, which had intensified their farming activities as a contribution to the war effort. They were allowed to continue building with simple local materials, like sand, lime, bricks and stones. Our six-year old son Eldar went to the school of my old kibbutz, and stayed there for five years. The kibbutz children claimed him as one of their own, arguing that his mother and father spent more time in the kibbutz than some of the veteran kibbutz members, who stayed away in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where they were busy with political and financial activities. My younger son Uri, who was born after the war, also went to the school community of my old kibbutz for some years, after finishing elementary school in town. Later on, he became a fisherman. He still works together in the small group of fishermen on the Mediterranean seashore. ... The planning problems were discussed in lengthy meetings with mothers, teachers and psychologists, until the programme and the basic design were finally approved. My friend, architect Zeev Rechter, once visited a kindergarten planned by him. There he met a boy of 6 or 7 in the little house under construction. The boy asked, "who are you?" Rechter replied, "I'm building this house for you." The boy said: "That's not true, my father (who was doing the actual building labour) is building it, you are only speaking the house." ...

Introduction

Kibbutz Stockade : Prev                                                                                                    2 of 6                                                                                                                   Next Temporary buildings constituted the first construction stage for a new kibbutz in a isolated area. According to Turkish law, in force during the period of the British Mandate, a building, once erected, even though illegally, could not be torn down. The structural elements for all the new stockade buildings were prepared, therefore, in a nearby, existing kibbutz, and were transported and erected during one night, ready for use the next morning.

Kibbutz Stockade

Types of Rural Settlements : Prev                                                                                                    3 of 6                                                                                                                   Next

Types of Rural Settlements

Kibbutz Layouts in the Forties : Prev                                                                                                    4 of 6                                                                                                                   Next Kibbutz Mishmar Yam in the flatlands: layout for 150 families. The different zones are planned according to the various functions. The central zone comprises dining-hall, kitchen, club and services. Around it are the members' homes and the children's quarters. Beyond are the cowsheds, poultry runs, storage and workshops in a geometric layout.

Kibbutz Layouts in the Forties

School Communities in the Kibbutz : Prev                                                                                                    5 of 6                                                                                                                   Next Architectural Competition - First Prize School community for 200-300 children of several kibbutzim, where the youngsters aged 12-18 study and work together. The layout is that of a micro-kibbutz, with dining hall in the centre, schools with quarters for boys and girls, and beyond, a small farm-yard, surrounded by orchards, vegetable gardens and stables.

School Communities in the Kibbutz

Kibbutz Geva - Assembly Hall : Prev                                                                                                    6 of 6                                                                                                                  NEXT The multi-purpose hall serves as theatre, cinema, gymnasium, assembly hall, and dining-room on festive occasions. The Geva building consists of four elements: an auditorium for 500, an amphitheatre for 800, a stage serving both, and the entrance courtyard. When the big doors are opened, all the elements create one architectural space entity. For daily activities and sports the closed hall and stage (Nos. 2 and 3) are used during the day. In the winter evenings, they are used for cinema performances. For bigger performances in the summer, folklore festivals and other major events, the same stage can be used together with the amphitheatre. For even larger special events, all four elements - amphitheatre, hall, courtyard and central stage, are combined and connected into one common overall space.

Kibbutz Geva - Assembly Hall

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