++1. Common stakes for common people

+A pragmatic state of mind

We postulate the equal right of Arabs and Jews to extend their settlement according to their needs Settlement should be possible for both communities, which has not been the case for more than fifty years. Using town planning as a defence tool to promote Jewish occupation (Homa Oumigdal, then kibbutz), Israel has been denying the Arabs the fundamental right to live where they were born. Through master plans, the areas where they finally settled down have been changed into non-constructible lands, national parks, fire zones, etc. This has made village growth impossible, which is a serious problem because demographic changes clearly indicate that the Arab population is growing quickly and thus needs land. Apart from the political problem this situation causes (about which we will not discuss because it is the responsibility of the communities and the Israeli government to face the reality of two-peoples-in-one-country), the question of how to organize these settlements in order to realize this fact remains unsolved. This is what Confluence wants to deal with : To define conditions for new types of village growth, which would give equal and impartial rights to both communities to ensure development.

We postulate a linked development between Ein Hod and Ein Hud because of a their implantation Instead of considering Ein Hud alone, isolated on its hilltop, deprived of any direct access and the right to develop housing, activities or farming, we have decided to consider the village with its links to Ein Hod and vice versa. One could even say that Ein Hud exists because of Ein Hod. The two villages are intertwined, co-existing next to each other. The Arab family of the old Ein Hod, which settled on the hill opposite the abandoned village, retained its links with it, even though the hope of returning to Ein Hod (today, an Israeli artist colony) will probably not come true. The empty space between the two settlements is full of tension and relationships, full of a history and a bounded future. The visual link between the two villages tells us this story; it’s not a pure coincidence and should not be forgotten that they face each other. Confluence therefore acknowledges and supports the interaction of these two villages. We consider the thalweg as the only place where seamless territory could be created and where the symbolic conflict between the hilltops could be anbandonned. To promote this, we have taken into account three kinds of objective considerations: the geographical site, the urban framework and the needs of both communities.

Looking for trivial stakes

A Mount Carmel’s gorge to be valorised First of all, the geography of this site gives importance to the location of both villages. They are located along one of the numerous gorges, which descend from the mountain ridges toward the Mediterranean Sea. These small valleys are sometimes very narrow or steep but in the case of the Hod valley, it is large enough to be a western entrance to the National Park of Mount Carmel and a more structured human settlement. Rather than letting the urbanization sprawl throughout Mount Carmel hills (which can cause fires, nature damages, etc.), the valley can potentially become a common good with water facilities, leisure amenities and delimited urban extensions. Moreover, this site benefits from rain because they are between the intensive agricultural coastal plain and the holy hilltops. Mount Carmel often restricts settlements because of its symbolic power (it plays an important role in religion), which has instigated many rules to preserve its holiness; for example: military zones, fire danger, a National Park with strict urban extension rules, reforestation (the fight against over-grazing, endeavours to find the original biblical flora, etc.). This environmental context could become a true asset for Ein HodEin Hud because it has the capability to join both sides together, to frame a fertilized natural environment and to channel the urban sprawl.

A mix of self-development and suburban dependence The proximity of the Haifa agglomeration, as well as the presence of the Tel AvivHaifa highway near Ein Hud–Ein Hod, represent an urban background shared by both villages. Most of the inhabitants work in Haifa or Nir Etzion (a big kibbutz), belong to the same employment zone and the same shopping areas, and potentially share the same “metropolitan equipments” in Haifa (Hospital, University, Airport, etc.). In addition, for the Haifa inhabitants, the Hod valley is one of the ways to come in Mount Carmel National Park. Ein Hod-Ein Hud is an entity, which depends on Haifa; for example, they rely on the connections and the transportation system of Haifa. Consequently, this put both villages under the same residential pressures of suburbanization. But Ein Hod-Ein Hud also has its own potential for development: some activities can benefit from the North-South main road axis of Israel, tourism can be promoted because of Mount Carmel, and the open valley can give many opportunities for a sustainable urban development, which fulfils the local needs.

Common socio-economic and environmental needs The first need on which we focus is the demographic. The population is growing fast, particularly the Arabs, who will have to double their housing simply to allow the next generation to stay where they were born (55 houses in Ein Hud and 54 males are under 18). But even the Jews need more housing because of the decrease in household size and the desirability of such a site for Haifa families who want more space and nature. Space has to be found for housing as well as for commercial needs and public services. We will also try to find the most economical and practical way to design this, in keeping with network and building constraints (water system, sewage and drainage, road access) and everyday uses. We will have also to clearly limit the natural areas to be preserved so that Mount Carmel will no longer be a constraining factor, but will be an asset, which will enrich the villages, through agriculture, landscape and water potentialities.

++2. An urban project as a whole confluence

+Defusing symbolic representations

Confluence starts to defuse the strongest symbolic representations of areas by giving them uses that can be shared by both communities, while staying as neutral and unterritorial as possible.

The Water issue as a leverage to answer common needs Since the river basin includes both villages, we have the opportunity to focus on the water issue. 600 mL of water fall annually, which creates the possibility of a water dam between Ein Hod and Ein Hud. In addition, one can: - Build a connecting road between the two villages. - Create a large pond between both communities where several activities could take place (for example: swimming, fishing, resting, playground, etc.). - Implement a water supply partnership in which both villages would be represented and responsible for the irrigation of gardens, orchards, and groves. In addition, water treatment and sewage could also be organized in a partnership between the two villages, which would be the only way to guarantee an effective system.- Have a water reserve in order to fight fires. - Develop a watering network in the valley and transform this dry and neglected zone into a fertilized landscape. Thanks to water storage and equalized distribution through reservoirs and small canals, terraces will be irrigated and will soften the sharp relief of the valley. In this newly designed area, an efficient agricultural system could be implemented as well as public paths and gardens. New houses’ gardens could also be well served by this network. - Transform the Hod valley into a welcoming entrance to Mount Carmel. The proposed dam is concieved as a plain efficient engineering work that would be very cheap to implement. In addition, we propose to build two other kinds of weirs along the Hod river: one next to Ein Hud and the other at the end of the valley.

Roads as common paths Confluence also designs paths and roads through the Hod valley that will be used daily by both communities. The new connecting road and several paths along the river would open the sterile and empty space between Ein Hod and Ein Hud. The main road would open up Ein Hud and give the Jews and the Arabs a common road. As well as inhabitants of Ein Hod, inhabitants of Ein Hud would have direct access to the National Road and to Nir Etzion. Connected with Ein Hod-Ein Hud urban frame, this main road also defines spaces for the future urbanization of both villages. One can build along the road not only local typologies of houses but also storages, public services and common needs like gaz station, bus station. The multifunctional center (Valley Center) is also located along this connecting road. On the western side of the dam, halfway from the two villages’ center, the crossroad can polarize urban development. Confluence also plans a path along the Hod River, connecting the plain to the wide landscapes of the Mount Carmel. Designed in the fertilized valley, it could be both used by inhabitants and tourists, pedestrians or mountain-bikers. The connecting road is a daily and mutual space: used by everyone, it simply frames urban extension and catches business location.

+The valley as an urban confluence

Like many other warlike urbanization around the world, the Ein Hud-Ein Hod story relates an urbanization taking advantage of the site, somehow a hilltops story of besieged villages. The project is a first step to another urban paradigm: implementing the valley as a virgin space for co-existence.

Making both communities’ urbanization converge The valley has to be re-invested with the following aims: filling needs of both communities, creating a urban continuity and respecting the whole natural site. The urban frame is designed in such a way to be economical in term of space. We propose a patio typology in which the outside vegetation is closely linked with the one inside the framework. Buildings are anchored to the slope and roads follow the topography. This gives every house a view to the valley, the hills and the sea. A principle of densification allows the evolution of the parcels. Connected with the main new road housing strips are implemented in the direction of the valley. In Ein Hud, we propose to preserve the hilltop plateau and make it a preserved natural area (leisure as well as a natural fire zone). The Ein Hud and Ein Hod extensions are step by step leading to each other. We do encourage this phenomenon by building several equipments and facilities in the valley such as bus station, gaz station, fire station, shooping center, etc. The most important equipment is the Valley Center. It is located at the crossroad near the main water reservoir. The building is composed of a base made of steps which lead to the water. Anchored to the slope, the building basement would be cheap. Upon the base different rooms and spaces are open to the view to the Ein Hud hill. Headed by both inhabitants of Ein Hud and Ein Hod it has a double function, cultural and administrative. People can find there the Water Management Authority, show and meeting room, lectures rooms, associations, bar, water leisure, documentation about the Mount Carmel, documentation about the Ein Hud-Ein Hod urban project... Managing this Valley Center is a step to act together. According to this program, the crossroad is able to progressively polarize a civic center.

New regards to the valley and from the valley Confluence is renewing glances and regards. The virtual experience we propose, deep down in the Ein Hud gorge, allows to take a distance to the actual conflict. Passing through the valley, one can see oneself (one’s own village) and, at the same time, see the similarity between the two villages. The urban features of Ein Hud and Ein Hod appear equal: an archaic warlike and ongoing “état de siège”. From every village, the glance is no more dual (we/they). A third element appears : a welcoming valley which is now a link. When the look goes from the village to the valley, the face-to-face is no more between the two villages but between the urban entity and the natural landscape. The Hod River becomes the limit, a limit between urban (Ein Hod–Ein Hud) and natural (Mount Carmel National Park) spaces. What tears Ein Hud and Ein Hod into parts, disappears in favor of a singular City, which imprisons the village’s contradictions and aborted dreams. This up-to-date urban drama reveals the before unimagined potential of the valley to transform conflict into confluence.