Three Winning Teams at "72 Hour Urban Action" Real-Time Architecture Competition

One of two first prizes went to the DASDING HOFFMAN’S Team (Germany, USA, Turkey and Israel) who were given the mission to provide quality public spaces for the residents of an office tower converted into protected housing for the elderly. The team enriched the space with function, color and movement. They managed to transform the site into a lively street lobby through a combination of an ingenious portable, wall-mounted bench, a sophisticated shading system, a street-level chandelier made out of recycled water bottles, and an extension to the existing street furniture.

The other first prize went to the BUT, YAM Team (Israel, Poland and Germany). They responded to their mission to establish a lively entrance to the Business District. The team’s project re-ordered and opened-up a provisional parking lot to create a new harmonious flow in the site. They created an elegant and refined object serving as passage way, providing the residents going through it with a dazzling and unexpected perspective.

The honorable mention went to BAB(V)-EL-YAM Team (Israel, Italy and UK). They worked with an abandoned public space that was invaded by the residents living around it, and were given the mission to re-define the civic order created in the space, and allow the residents to express their own needs and uses. The team worked in full cooperation with local residents, and have created a beautiful, human-scale public garden. The project quotes the houses around it providing both intimate and public moments on the site.

From the Jury:

“The 72 Hour Urban Action’s doing is irreversible. The project raised the question whether rapid change, devoid of bureaucratic and political setbacks, can be manifested. It is unanimously agreed that the project has answered this question with a sounding yes. The worth and potential of sovereignty was revealed both to the projects partners and the local residents. I don’t know if a new architectural language emerged, but something unprecedented has undoubtedly occurred - A winning, shaping force recognized as humanity revealed itself. As someone who met with the project, I feel that something in me shifted, that I am changed after seeing the elaborated framework and methodology the project has laid out. I assume what happened to me was even deeper and more meaningful for those who have actively participated in 72 Hour Urban Action.” - Doron Rabina, Head of HaMidrasha School of Art, Beit Berl College, 72 HUA judge