Evergreen

This project revolved around the planning of an elementary school at a chosen site within a semi-industrial area near downtown Haifa, in strict compliance with the programmatic and technical demands of the Ministry of Education and Israeli construction laws. This area, located at the base of Wadi Rushmiya, is set to undergo extensive renewal projects over the coming decades. Proper structural and urban infrastructure could allow sustainable relations between the area’s existing and proposed urban fabrics, even going as far as renewing the connection to the wadi, which in the past decade has been converted from a natural green lung into a bustling vehicular road. This assumption constitutes the basis for the design of the proposed school, located at the wadi’s mouth, near two existing schools, and bordering both Khalisa neighborhood and a proposed urban artery.

The building fills dual roles: firstly, as a place of education for its students, who will benefit from its proximity to Khalisa and to the restored green lung; and secondly, as a public building within an urban continuum, charging the wadi with the human activity it currently lacks. The proposed design aims to see the school as part of an urban whole, encouraging a symbiotic relationship between the students, the residents, and nature within the city.