Reclaiming space and identity: heritage-led regeneration in Palestine

摘要

This article provides an insight into our attempts to find ways to enact spatial change within the current Palestinian/Israeli conflict, with our aim being to heal the violent fractures caused by years of Israeli occupation. Working in collaboration with Riwaq-a leading NGO dealing with architectural conservation in Palestine-on the regeneration of the historical centre of Birzeit (an important university town just north of Ramallah) has become a key investigative method for us to explore the spatial potential of old historic areas to help reconstruct Palestinian cultural identity. This experience has also added a new dimension to our process of research by architectural design, since it shifts debate towards a practice-led approach. Being involved in a 'live' project such as that for Birzeit has expanded our role within critical architecture practice: an approach which we believe is urgently needed to deal with the kinds of social and political realities found in their most devastating state in places such as Palestine.