Visit: Sunbird pavilion
Half of Mr MFH’s family are from Bethlehem so I’ve earmarked this event from the London Festival Of Architecture to visit before it finishes on 11 August.
It’s the Palestine Sunbird Pavilion (at the Dreamspace Gallery), so called as a reference to the occupied territory’s local birdlife and the little known fact that the area is one of the busiest corridors for bird migration. This is symbolic of freedom of movement and contrasts with conditions on the ground. Having personally experienced the check points, I think it makes a powerful point.
The pavilion has been designed by London-based Palestine Regeneration Team (PART), whose efforts to tackle visionary reconstruction in troubled Palestine makes for a heartening read. They’ve come up with a self-build housing guidebook for the Gaza Strip, which they plan to take to Palestine in January 2013.
The Sunbird Pavilion is constructed from rammed earth, concrete and laser cut timer frames among other materials, and the ceiling has been designed to mimic thousands of birds in the skies above Palestine.
All images from The British Council Blog.
Love this! As a journalist, I have experienced what you describe during many years covering the region. It’s heartening to see the Palestine Regeneration Team’s Pavilion and most of all, their efforts to help improve the lives of those living in awful conditions in Gaza.
It is pretty amazing and I had no idea a practice was doing this kind of work from London.