ROOTING IN MAJDAL SHAMS
“Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest,
and drinks a wine that flows not from its own winepress ... ” Kahlil Gibran
To link past, present, and future
To connect earth and man
To link children and the elderly
To link the old and the new
To Link nature and structure
Majdal Shams is a densely constructed Druze village / city located at the foot of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights. The essential traditions of agriculture at the heart of the Druze community and its societal structure, have arisen out of a sense of belonging that connects to the community to itself and to the land. The autonomy of the society has played a crucial role in ensuring the survival of the Druze people throughout many centuries of war and the village's strategic vulnerability in a severed location. This has culminated with Israel's current occupation of the land since 1967 and subsequent limitations to the Druze quality of life including loss of open spaces, proximity to backyard orchards and inhibited urban growth.
The focal point of our proposal was to develop a pilot regeneration strategy to promote local economy and the existing tourism generated from the primary route crossing Majdal Shams and connecting it to the Mount Hermon Ski site. The tourism sector has brought a shift in culture to a younger, vibrant work / lifestyle setting, now raising the questions of how do we redefine the characteristics of Majdal Shams akin to the Village or the City?
Our key objective for the new Majdal masterplan extension was to define a community setting that can revive the qualities of Madjal Shams' historic origins, such as its geographic terrain, agricultural orchards and water sources. The focal point has been on the design of a new live / work dwelling typology, which can provide a catalyst impact to connect families, communities and wider touristic hosting. The masterplan is comprised of approximately 50 mixed-use buildings, punctuated by green links and that promote sustainable living, shared spaces functioning as orchards, locally grown vegetation, thus enhancing connections between all generations from mature farmers to young children, local families, college students and tourists.