Back to the Future

The project examines the built and open spaces and the development pattern of the Circassian village of Kfar Kama in the Lower Galilee, focusing on the factors that have shaped its public and social spaces.
Kfar Kama was founded by Circassian settlers in 1867 on the ruins of a Byzantine village on Ottoman Empire territory, following the 1864 war with the Russian Empire. The village began with a few houses clustered around the mosque and gradually expanded over the years, evolving alongside the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while maintaining Circassian cultural traditions.
The Adyghe Khabze—a set of ethical and social laws that continue to guide Circassian society—formed the foundation of the village community and shaped the village’s architectural layout: houses were built closely together, forming an external wall while maintaining gaps to respect each family’s personal space. Each home included a Khachesh (guesthouse) and a shared inner courtyard for agricultural and household use.
Today, physical remnants of traditional houses can still be seen in the village’s historic core. Some are inhabited by village elders, and some are abandoned and ruined, serving as hidden gathering spots for village youth.
 The buildings in the village are becoming more modern and Israeli in style. The village is expanding in a ring-like pattern of private lands, where each new nuclear family builds a single-family home, gradually distancing from the core in pursuit of individual needs.
Meanwhile, the community’s social needs are being neglected and find no expression in the village’s evolving fabric. This shift, if left unaddressed, could lead to further spatial expansion, distancing residents from the historic core and damaging Kfar Kama’s unique identity.
The village has reached another stage where modernization is changing the rules of the game and bringing new challenges. The renewed community has new needs, and the traditional village must readjust to contemporary needs.
There’s a need to preserve identity and culture while adapting the physical space to the community’s new needs. A conflict that many of the small traditional evolving villages face, in Israel and Circassian settlements in particular, around the world.
This raises a fundamental question: How can the traditional village evolve to meet the new needs of its community while preserving its distinct cultural identity?