This Holcim Awards winner by Riwaq aims to bring back traditional know-how, reconnect communities over sustainable practices and equip women and workers with transferable skills. These social and environmental goals will be achieved by repurposing a ruined historical site in East Jerusalem to create a public forum and cultural centre. 

Project description by jury

The proposal for the restoration of the historic center of Kafr ‘Aqab, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, creates an environmental, social and cultural hub for the local community. The project is the outcome of a collaborative effort made with local institutions, administrations and, most importantly, the local community. It moves through different scales to include infrastructural and landscape interventions as well as targeted measures at the building scale for the restoration of historical fabrics. The program includes a play area for children, eco-kitchens for the women’s association as well as spaces for cultural activities and local institutions. 

As a Main category prize winner in the regional Holcim Awards 2020, Growing Social Fabric in Palestine automatically qualified as a finalist in the Global Holcim Awards 2021.

View Global Holcim Awards Entry – Growing Social Fabric in Palestine

The built environment has a significant role to play in addressing climate change and enabling the transition to a net-zero and more inclusive future. The Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction global winners showcase the cutting edge of approaches to sustainable design, green architecture, and materials innovation. The 6th cycle of the competition saw three entries in the Middle East Africa region win prizes at both the global and regional levels, including a project in Morocco that won a Global Holcim Awards Bronze and two projects that were recognized with a Global Commendation. The global prizes were presented at a handover ceremony at the International Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy. The regional Holcim Awards Main category winners for Middle East Africa were recognized at the same event.

Environmental Approach of Revitalization

Because of the disastrous environmental and geopolitical problems that Kafr 'Aqab suffers from, an ecological approach was adopted.The approach analyzes the interaction among living systems and their environment, between human and non-human processes. The planning approach,therefore, proposed a well-designed water management system, landscape plan, greenery waste separation & thermal comfort programs taking advantage of available resources. The project also aims at reviving the water spring and reclaiming of farming lands around the historic center. Green roofs and collective agricultural community gardens are essential parts of the project design.

The concept of conservation and adaptive reuse highly contributes to the reduction of CO2. The conservation methodology highly depends on local material (limestone, crushed pottery, and sand) for reconstruction. In addition, the traditional structures provide thermal comfort and minimize the need for heating and cooling. The project also includes systems for grey water filtration and use for plant irrigation and use of water wells and collection of rainwater. The design includes a set of roof and community gardens to be utilized by the local community. In addition, the design of the children's playground, street furniture and shading elements is based on recycled elements (pipes, electricity poles, etc), not ignoring the dense vegetation on roofs, courtyards, and alleys.