De-terio[AIR]tion

Constant changes in a city’s skyline are a symbol of progress and pride and one of the main signs of a city’s growth and renewal. In the past few years, we have witnessed the vigorously rate of development among large cities in Israel. The intensive development rate is one of the by-products of the population’s growth rate and its role, among other things, is to provide infrastructures, such as residential buildings, workplaces, and leisure areas for the residents. As with any progress, human or technological, the growth of the construction industry has brought about both positive and negative charges. Aside from the monotonous developed landscape the most negative impact of constant construction  is on our air quality, especially in dense cities.

In Tel Aviv, the extensive construction in the urban centers harms the quality of life of nearby residents. As the public space shifts into a destruction zone, there is a reduction in green areas and emissions of large amounts of dust and noise. Such nuisances have become commonplace for local residents. The project focuses on the processes of dismantling and building residential buildings within dense residential neighborhoods. It offers as an alternative a new typological construction method that aims to streamline the construction processes on the site in order to improve air quality.

The proposal includes a method that allows for the dismantling and construction of a building within a closed environment. I developed a shell, built from hollow cubes, using precast fabricated constructive elements. Each cube connects to a membrane that makes it airtight. By stacking cubes one on top of the other, a protective shell can be built around an existing building so it can be dismantled within, creating a buffer to protect the outside from the construction noise and debris inside. The concept is to use the preconstructed shell as the constructive infrastructure for the next planned building. The height of the shell depends on the height of the desired building, and it can also be thickened according to project specifications. After the building is dismantled, the membranes are disconnected from the construction. At the end of the anchoring, we can bring the pre-cast apartments to the site and start assembling them.