Part of a larger scheme to revive the historic center of Beit Iksa, a small Palestinian village of 1,600 people near Jerusalem, the project offers a response to the village’s isolation and limited resources. In a first step, two abandoned buildings will be adapted for reuse as working spaces with an eco-kitchen for the local women’s association, followed by the rehabilitation of surrounding spaces.

The new facilities will include interactive educational playgrounds for children, winter and summer seating areas, and a protected bird habitat. It is an effort to bring life back to this abandoned site by combining design, planning, restoration, landscaping, and infrastructure, thus improving local living conditions and biodiversity, while adding to the aesthetic quality of Beit Iksa.

Read project feature in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)