#Unconsumerism

Beginning in the 1990s, and influenced by suburban planning in the US, the concept of the Israeli mall arose and a dizzying wave of newly built shopping centers swept the country. However, from the beginning of the 2000s, the surplus of trading areas, alongside changing consumption habits, led to the decline and abandonment of many shopping malls. In recent times, the launching of new city malls has been accompanied by a strong and unpleasant feeling of déjà vu.  

The project focuses on the city of Rishon Lezion, where seven shopping malls were built in two years (1991–1993). Of these, six are no longer active, standing as empty boxes surrounded by parking lots in the heart of the crowded public space of Gush Dan. The project examines the community and environmental potential of abandoned complexes (and complexes that may be abandoned in the future), and offers new and sustainable thinking for their renewed use. Shopping centers, it is proposed, should change their purpose toward acting as affordable housing, strengthening local trade, and responding to public neighborhood needs while placing emphasis on strengthening the community. For this purpose, a construction typology is developed that combines residences, trade, and crafts and ensures the new complexes serve as an important layer in the urban sequence, rather than interrupting as in the existing situation. Such buildings should also be integrated into regional infrastructural systems, such as Rishon Lezion’s drainage system, which will contribute to urban resilience in dealing with runoff events. The project examines questions concerning the climate crisis, the housing crisis, and social crises, offering an array of planning tools for the sustainable use of similar complexes and similar phenomena in other places across the Israeli landscape.