 | | For all the wonder and perplexities in the world, one thing remains constant: politics and religion will never be friends. With a tumultuous history spanning decades, nowhere else is this better understood than in the Middle East. And such is the backdrop of the Peres Peace House – a building free of religious affiliation, but entrenched in political sentiment. Opened in March this year, the Peace House and the organisation it accommodates, is all about reaching peace through people, rather than governments. Built on the premise that it will assist to achieve peace and also represent it, the Peace House is a structure of profound significance, a symbol of innovation and change.
In the ancient port city of Jaffa stands this exceptionally modern construction, designed by renowned Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas. Jaffa is located just south of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean Sea in Israel, where Israeli Arabs and Jews coexist peacefully, providing fertile ground for the Peres Centre for Peace to station their headquarters. This non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organisation is dedicated to advancing peaceful relations in the Middle East with Fuksas' Peace House standing as more than a mere architectural structure, and acting as a catalyst for change in a part of the world that desperately seeks it.
Of architecture today, Fuksas says it must set itself as an "aid", describing the Peace House as an "active" building dedicated to its purpose of housing the inner workings of a very specific organisation with a very specific mission. As an organisation that seeks to nurture Israel's ties with its neighbours, the Centre for Peace implements specially designed peacebuilding activities through the building's recreational facilities, and the Culture, Media & Arts Department has begun operation of a 'Peace Education' program directed at Israeli and Palestinian children and youth. In workshop facilities, children engage in activities that promote peace through theatre, cinema and the arts, instilling in these impressionable young minds the importance of unification - something that history has taught us cannot be taught through politics. The Peace House is a reflection of the hope and aspiration for a different reality for the region.
Weighed against other projects by Fuksas, the Peace House is comparatively subtle. Where the recently completed Zenith music hall in Strasbough makes no apologies for its irregular drum-like appearance and bold orange façade, the Peace House is less overt in its grandeur – the box-like structure surfacing from the hillside like an extension of its natural surroundings. Comprised of not much else other than layered cement blocks and glass, the building lets in plenty of natural light during the day, and by night emits artificial light causing it to glow. The Peace House is the embodiment of Fuksas' desire for it to serve as a beacon of light to the region.
The façade is made up of thin layers of greenish-coloured precast concrete and translucent glass randomly layered in a fashion that is reminiscent of sedimentary rock, and signifies time and patience. Of the materials themselves, Fuksas says they represent "places that have suffered heavily": the concrete a solid reminder of stable times and the glass a clear symbol of fragility. Whilst the concrete is completely flat on the exterior, inside the concrete slabs protrude unevenly with light seeping through the glass gaps and filling the space with a luminous glow. With a sensitive and simplistic design executed with basic materials, the Peace House stands in stark contrast to the complicated history of the Middle East.
Entering the building from the street and through a landscaped garden, the Peace House is surrounded by the Peace Park, a wide area made up of multiple levels and layers, plants, sitting areas and tree-lined paths that lead from the Peace House to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. As well as to capture tranquil vistas of the water, the Park is intended as a neutral meeting spot for locals and a place to host large-scale events, just like the building itself which features a 200-seat wood-panelled auditorium on the second floor. The Peace House covers an area of 2,500 sqm, divided into six floors that all span 600 sqm. The first floor consists of offices for the staff of the Centre, a library and cafeteria; apart from the auditorium, the second floor features a press room and press conference hall; on the third floor the members and guests cafeteria, mediateque and the top level of the library; the fourth and fifth floors contain additional offices and the sixth floor ten apartments. Interestingly, yet in line with Israel's policy regarding the construction of new buildings, a reinforced room is located on each floor to act as a shelter in the event of a bomb or gas attack. But of all these spaces and amenities, the library is perhaps the structure's most vital element. It houses a wealth of resources about movers and shakers who have contributed to peacebuilding and conflict resolution, but most significantly, the bulk of the archives concern the man who founded the organisation, Shimon Peres.
With a political career that spans six decades, and a succession of high-held positions in twelve cabinets, Peres served twice as Prime Minister and is currently the President of the State of Israel. In 1992, Peres served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Yitzhak Rabin's leadership, and used his role to initiate negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which resulted in the Oslo Accords (Declaration of Principles) that were signed by Peres and Abu Mazen on the White House lawn on September 13, 1993. In light of his peacebuilding efforts, together with Rabin and Yasser Arafat, Peres was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. In 1996 he founded the Peres Centre for Peace as a way to implement his vision of a unified Middle East, in which people could work together to build peace through common social, economic, cultural and educational interests. As the hub of Peres' organisation and a building that stands for so much, designing the Peace House was no walk in the park, taking ten years to finally be realised.
Representing the "venue of an encounter, a debate, reasoning and solutions", as Fuksas says, this structure is a refreshing reminder of the basic, yet fundamental human desire for peace. With the only view from the building pointed to the open sea, and backing onto the shores of the Mediterranean, the Peace House is as much a symbol of renewal and the future as the water and horizon. Just as the built and natural environments form a harmonious collaboration in this sense, one is hopeful that the Peace House will encourage the same in its visitors. +
IMAGES courtesy of Moreno Maggi |
