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Architecture of Israel #
112
|
February
2018
|
Mixed Use
page
99
english readers
Actually negating the zoning theory,
the idea of mixed use was reintegrated
into modern town planning during the
seventies’. The idea is based on four
interactive drives: crime development in
industrial zones abandoned at night; an
attempt to shorten distances between
housing, commercial and industrial areas
in order to decrease traffic jams; public
response to urban fabric destruction
caused by Brutalist architecture (hence
its name) beneath megalomaniac
piles of concrete that devastated most
city centers; and in turn, awakening
the preservation trend, realizing the
importance of architectural heritage in
local identity.
In this framework, attempts were made
to restore the city’s traditional organs -
while preserving buildings of historical
value in an urban continuum of streets
(as opposed to roads), squares and
gardens. Namely – an organic formation
that developed gradually and randomly as
a result of many intentions, rather than an
overly domineering one.
However, an automatic use of this potent
idea has in recent years become a two-
sided sword – when building plans
are made according to the marketing
interests of entrepreneurs, orienting the
building market in an opposite direction,
particularly when it comes to exclusive
complexes where the key word is spatial-
isolation.
No less interesting is that mixed use is
encouraged by planning authorities who,
on one hand are supposed to promote a
better space use, but on the other, bless
the “rain” of hundreds of billions that come
from property taxes. Thus, the organic
cliché has essentially become a type of
kosher certificate for real estate oriented
food for thought
mixed use
or mixed cliché
Ami Ran
The term “mixed use” expresses an urban concept that promotes the
integration of housing, commerce, services, culture and industry, believing
that this will lead to a more efficient space use, while encouraging interaction
between users with varying needs. Although the idea is fundamental to any
organic settlement, it is absent from most (too) well-calculated modern cities.
creations, allowing entrepreneurs to
change building purposes according to
their marketing needs, while encouraging
corrupt capital/governing ties.
In this reality, it is corruption that dictates
the face of the state, let alone decision-
makers’ faces, some of whom, to our
shame, must practice leisure time in
prison, God forbid – like in Argentine,
France, or London (see following article).
There is no need to go too deep to
understand that this magic circle, which
involves all movers of the building market
– the authorities, entrepreneurs, architects
and clients – constitutes a ridiculous
attempt to eat the cake and expect it to
remain whole, while terms such as social
detachment and spatial connection are in
rational conflict, which on an urban level
is evidenced in the obsessive separation
between pedestrians and vehicles, whose
owners themselves become pedestrians
as soon as they activate their parking
software.
It’s worth mentioning that the trend of
urban preservation that developed during
the 70s’ focused on the Main Street,
assuming that it represented the essence
of the place. However, this goodwill also
expresses a basic misunderstanding by
urban planners. They keep turning the
Main street into a pedestrian walkway
detaching it from the surroundings, where
all cultural functions are deliberately
located – the City-Square, the market
place, the theatre and prayer house–
whether it’s a synagogue, church, mosque
or temple, deliberately made remote from
the main street for security reasons.
And no less serious is the fact that in this
process, important buildings turn into
museum exhibits, while the urban fabric
that developed over the years loses its
meaning.
Concrete examples of this are the Sarona
Gardens in Tel Aviv or Sokolov Street
in Herzeliya, which in its prime, was
connected with the market, City Hall and
the main synagogue. And today – after
turningparts of it intoapedestrianwalkway,
it functions like the disadvantaged sister
of Herzeliya Pituach.
By the way, if anyone from Herzeliya is
insulted, relax, it happens everywhere,
where historic cities lose their uniqueness
and look like copy/paste towns, where
tourists who come to get a taste of a
place, are made to quench their thirst in
international brand stores.
Contributing to this are the uniform Street
signs that someone in the business
licensing department who was bored
decided should be restrained, as well as
the Urban Design Guide that prevents any
personal creative expression.
And if this isn’t enough, erasing local
identity is probably also evident inside the
buildings - Malls, theaters, and particularly
hotels, whose rooms lose their uniqueness
in order to look like a ridiculous Trivago
advertisement.
Hence,
exclusivity
and
personal
expression reserved only for the few,
deprives “mixed use” of its significance,
not only by distinguishing between what is
different, but by connecting what is similar.
In this reality, there is neither room for
random development, nor reduction of
distances between residential, commerce,
and places of employment. Nor is there
interaction between various users,
neutralizing the unique identity of a place.
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