Young Israeli and Palestinian Architects Are Invited to Join World Renowned Architects for a Week of Green Building Lectures, Site Visits, and Workshops.
With cooperation from Friends of the Earth Middle East, Hebron Polytechnic, and the Porter School for Environmental Studies (among many others), the International Non-Profit Organization ECOWEEK has announced that from July 25th to August 1st, young architectural professionals and graduate students in Israel and Palestine will be able to flex their green building muscles. Joined by other international students and led by renowned architects from around the world, participants will have the enviable opportunity to learn about the best green practices in the field.
ECOWEEK (founded by Elias Messinas, an Israeli-Greek green architect we’ve featured in the past) has arranged lectures, and six different workshops on real building projects taking place in Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Negev Desert, and the Biennale of Bat Yam. The lectures will cover topics such as green building and green building materials and technologies, as well as green landscape design. At the time of registration, budding architects will be asked to choose the workshop of their choice; they will then be assigned to a collaborative group of 10-15 peers with whom they will work throughout the week.
Architects sharing their savvy include such heavyweights as Michael Sorkin from New York, Bjarke Ingels from Denmark, Thomas Rau from Holland, and Nataly Gattegno and Jason Johnson from Future Cities Lab. Israeli students who are interested in hosting visiting students will receive a discount, otherwise the costs of attendance are as follows: 250 euro for students; 300 euro for young architects and professionals. Notice: Registration fees increase after JUNE 15. Click here for more details.
ECOWEEK has been organizing international activities and partnerships that encourage sustainable building principles since 2005. Their three foci are on a) passive solar architecture and green building, b) recycling household waste and composting, and c) energy conservation and renewable resources. There may also be a similar event hosted in Greece later on this year, so interested architects should stay tuned for further details. In the meantime, students: put down your pens and pick up your shovel. It’s time to practice what has been preached.
:: Images courtesy of ecoweek.com taken of a similar conference held in Athens earlier this year.
More Green Building News From The Middle East:
C.E.S. Thinks Inside the Box to Save Energy
Geotectura’s Visual Feast, Out of the Box
Tel Aviv’s Annual Architectural Weekend Celebrates Urban Green Spaces
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
