ZELOS Designs

In exchange for Arab ownership of the village land of Ein Hud, the city will cultivate traditional foods with a focus on products for the olive industry. This will create a relationship that will benefit both the Jewish and Arab cultures by making the important contribution of food production to the economy of Israel.
Once established, Ein Hud will become an enjoyable escape from the division of the cultures. Arabic architecture and culture will be showcased in the village through the preservation of the original improvised structures and boundary of the village. This will be accomplished through the construction of a vehicular road that encircles the village. This circle incorporates community parking areas and commercial marketplaces along the road. Within the original boundary of the village, access will be available to pedestrians only. These methods of preservation will record the village at its time of struggle as well as the struggle of the other unrecognized villages and Arabs in Israel.
There will be the addition of a monumental unification wall along what will become Main Street, within the original boundary of the village. This will visually represent the coming together of not only the Jewish and Arab cultures, but all cultures to explore the interesting aspects of each other. This will promote communication and coexistence between cultures. The unification wall accomplishes this by creating an Arabic marketplace along the new Main Street that highlights the Arabic culture and exposes it to the village’s visitors. This marketplace will be comprised of vendors providing traditional foods, arts, crafts, clothing, and dining in a traditional Arabic atmosphere. The unification wall also orders the irregular improvised planning of the preserved village, without disrupting the existing structures.
Eventually, the preservation of the village as it was during its time of struggle will allow Ein Hud to become a historic district of great importance. This will allow the village to shift from a primarily agricultural economy to a more diverse economy of which tourism be an important part.
The village will initially expand through infill within the original boundary of the village, with structures of the same scale as what is existing. Outside of the original border of Ein Hud, agricultural land will be allocated so that the village can develop its economy. As the economy shifts and becomes for diverse, the agricultural land can then begin to be developed.
The total size of the proposed village is approximately 268 dunams, mostly agricultural. There will be 168 new buildings added as proposed by the master plan. Additional building may be expanded into the agricultural area as the population growth requires it.
The multifunctional center as requested by the competition guidelines will be located adjacent to the mosque, central to the village and convenient. It will serve partially as an educational facility, with exhibition, library, and hospitality functions as well. The design of the building allows for ease of expansion by mirroring its form. It is infinitely expandable, land space permitting.
The design of the building is interior oriented, due to its site located behind the unification wall. Channels of light and water that slice through the circulation spaces represent the division between the cultures. The minimal nature of the separation, actually being the absence of a physical built barrier, is meant to visually translate the concept of the village. This concept of coexistence of the cultures while recording and remembering the division between them will be spoken through the building to the visitors, in hopes of changing any preconceived stereotypes and opening their minds to new possibilities.