THE ICE SQUARE

 

RAMLA, ISRAEL, 2020

FIRST PRIZE COMPETITION

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The city of Ramla in Israel’s central district is one of the only few mixed cities in the country‭, ‬where Jewish‭, ‬Muslims and Christians live together‭. ‬It has an old quarter with ancient Muslim architecture‭, ‬stone buildings with old arches‭, ‬next to some new neighborhoods and social housing projects from the ’50s‭. ‬Earlier this year‭, ‬the city of Ramla announced a competition to build a monument at the old‭ ‬“Ice Square”‭, ‬the main junction in the city entrance that used to inhabit an old ice factory centuries ago‭. ‬Our proposal is seeking to integrate the old architectural tradition of the city with new technologies‭ ‬and to preserve the memory of the city’s history and its people‭. ‬The monument is comprised of stone bricks dome‭, ‬as some of the ancient buildings in the city old center‭, ‬surrounded by glass bricks‭, ‬that will be cast to costume made molds‭, ‬produced in digital fabrication methods‭ - ‬as a reminder‭ ‬to the old ice factory‭. ‬We also designed a small park around the monument‭, ‬with a vernal pool and local herbs garden for the residents live nearby‭. ‬