Rehabilitation Of Dar Al Consul Into Residential And Civic Complex

The project aims at strengthening the resilience of Palestinians and protecting the Palestinian cultural and local  identity in East Jerusalem.  Specifically , the project is  addressing the problems of housing, the disruption of the social structure, and the deteriorated living environment  inside the Old City by improving the living conditions of  a group of Palestinian  families, most of which are senior residents of  limited to middle income. They have been living for long years inside  the Old City and hold the memory of the place. The project  will provide to the residents of the targeted historical complex a better living environment through rehabilitation works and eliminating the risk factors resulting from living in deteriorated buildings. The rehabilitation works will address various aspects and stages of decay, such as structural instability, unsafe electrical and dysfunctional mechanical installations, humidity, inadequate lighting and access difficulties, especially for the elderly. In addition, the resident families will enjoy a good provision of open space that accommodates private courtyards, domestic gardens of indigenous Palestinian local character, social and seasonal events. Meanwhile, the historical character of the complex and the houses will be preserved.

The project also addresses the problems of  lack of social and community services for youth ,lack of variety in the commercial and Palestinian touristic attractions and  services inside the Old City. In response to this, the project entails the rehabilitation of a vacant decayed and deserted space on the ground floor of the targeted historical  complex. The space will be converted into a new civic center that will act as a hub for a diverse range of visitors and youth of both genders. The action will comprise a package of activities and commercial uses that will be unique and will fill a gap in the services offered inside the Old City, hence create an attractive hub for its residents and visitors alike. Hereby, the project will capitalize on the strategic location of the premises -being adjacent to one of the centrally located market areas inside the Old City (Khan Alzait) in the Islamic Quarter- and the historic character of the complex to promote Palestinian identity. Hence, it will counter act Israeli policies that aim at weakening the Palestinian identity inside the Old City. In addition, the project  addresses  the problems of youth social problem, and the high rates of school dropouts. The civic center will include youth knowledge and career guidance facilities. It will provide them with a space that is equipped with modern tools of communication, knowledge gaining and self-expression. It will also provide youth development programs that are focused on career development and education guidance.

The design of the civic centre and its functional program will cater for creating a spatial setting that allows the Palestinian youth of both genders, who suffer from isolation and limited development choices to  enjoy an attractive atmosphere of social and cultural  diverse interactions through the center activities . The interaction will be directed to focus on learning from Palestinian entrepreneurs, accomplished young professionals, and the centre operation staff and global visitors. In addition, the operation plan of the centre will accommodate regular events that focus on youth development. 

The project  will build on the experience, existing programs and networks of Al Quds University to establish and operate the above mentioned development programs. The program will include education and career guidance specialized training, in addition to exposure and links to regional and international capacity building initiatives and job opportunities. This will help youth graduating from Palestinian universities to overcome some of the barriers that narrow their perspective towards education and reduces their access to rewarding jobs. Students who live in the Old  City will be given preferential  consideration for benefiting from the above mentioned opportunities and activities.

A closely  related matter to the above mentioned problems,  is  youth weak access to employment and job opportunities. In this regards, the project is anchored around engaging Palestinian youth, in particular Palestinian students and newly graduating students from Al-Quds University, in various stages of the development process. This will allow for a capacity building model that enables the selected youth to gain hands on experience. This will help bridging the existing gab resulting from the weak economic activity and limited private investment, which minimize employment opportunities and weaken Palestinian access to job opportunities. UN-Habitat and Al Quds University will coordinate the selection of suitable courses and students to participate in the project. The selected students will be provided with the necessary training to perform the required tasks. They will also be provided with sufficient explanation and exposure to the development cycle. Youth engagement is perceived to be achieved by two tracks. On the one hand students will be engaged through course work, under guidance from their teachers and UN-Habitat specialized expertise in the preparation of the operation plan and its required market surveys and needs assessment. On the other hand, new graduating students will actively engage in practical training on the operation activities of the center, in a manner that qualifies them to be hired directly by the project as part of its operation staff as fixed staff or interns. This will expose the selected students to the operation cycle, help them understand the business aspect of it, and gain experience by actual practice

Furthermore ,  the center will act as an incubator for career development where a job placement program will be created to keep feeding additional students or interns to work in the center, replacing other interns or trainees who were hired in a previous cycle of the job placement program.  Hence, the capacity building cycle can keep repeating itself.  The existing interns will be supported by aiming at linking them with relevant job opportunities in other places. 

The project  will utilize the significant historic value of the complex through adopting a rehabilitation approach that does not compete with the historic value, rather it enhances it with a sensitive layer of rehabilitation that suites contemporary requirements and responds to the specific needs of the residents, users and visitors. This will result in the creation of a convenient living environment, while maintaining the resident's sense of identity and pride. These factors will strengthen the residents' resilience to the distressed living conditions and the social and political factors that are pushing many residents to leave the Old City. The project  will provide thematic services that combine the local and historic identity with modern functions and interpretations. The focus will be on providing services of commercial returns and civic services to the youth of East Jerusalem, the Old City in particular. The provided services will be integrated in terms of their character.The provided services will be integrated in terms of their character.

The proposed solutions adopts a new development model that introduces principles of eco-friendly and energy efficient models of rehabilitation in a challenging historical setting. Aspects of natural ventilation and lighting, solar energy introduction, natural and traditional landscape design and foliage will be among the adopted concepts.  It will also aim at integrating historic preservation and cultural identity protection with modern life needs. Interventions will not compete with the existing fabric; they will rather be simple introductions that reflect functional needs and space organization. Needs of the elderly will be among the functional interventions to be considered. In addition, the open space design will cater to women and children needs.  On the operational side, the same principles of eco friendly and eco-urbanity themes will be adopted and enhanced among the Palestinian youth and young professionals targeted by the project. For the targeted youth, equal opportunities will be offered to both genders.