Images on this page
Project materials held at McGillProject Title
Damascus Gate Scheme 1 and 2
Alternate Titles
Peace Gate
Description
The area around Damascus Gate is the most active entrance to the Old City markets and the center of community life for the Arab population. The triangular precinct is bounded by the Arab business district to the east, the Jewish sector to the west, and the Old City Wall with Damascus Gate to the south. A continuous valley originally sloped from north to south through the gate, the focal point of the district. Once prominent in the landscape, Damascus Gate now appears partially sunken as the ground level has gradually risen. Inaccessible from 1948 to 1967, the area has been occupied only temporarily since then.
Hatzanchanim Street, a major road, currently divides the triangular precinct into two segments, north and south. The recently constructed Highway 1 runs along the edge of the precinct and, with its acoustic baffle walls, has been criticized for separating the eastern and western parts of the city almost as brutally as the old barbed wire on the Jordanian-Israeli border. Over a period of twenty years, Safdie proposed two distinct schemes to manage traffic and regional transportation issues, with the common goal of balancing pedestrian and commercial activities at this pivotal location.
Images on this page: 1 Aerial view of physical model; 2 View of physical model; 3 View of physical model; 4 Upper level plan; 5 Lower level plan
Jerusalem, Israel
Hatzanchanim Street, a major road, currently divides the triangular precinct into two segments, north and south. The recently constructed Highway 1 runs along the edge of the precinct and, with its acoustic baffle walls, has been criticized for separating the eastern and western parts of the city almost as brutally as the old barbed wire on the Jordanian-Israeli border. Over a period of twenty years, Safdie proposed two distinct schemes to manage traffic and regional transportation issues, with the common goal of balancing pedestrian and commercial activities at this pivotal location.
Images on this page: 1 Aerial view of physical model; 2 View of physical model; 3 View of physical model; 4 Upper level plan; 5 Lower level plan
Jerusalem, Israel
Timeline
between 1974 and 1994
Location
Status
Completion Date
Theme
Project Type
Creator
Safdie Architects
Rights:
© Safdie Architects. Explicit permission to use images is required. Contact the Communications Director at Safdie Architects (617.629.2100) for more information.