Summary: Located in the desert city of Be’er Sheva, Israel, this 21 acre village will serve as an eco-system of Zionist engagement including Jewish National Fund’s high school abroad, a program for post-college graduates to pursue yearlong internships at leading high tech companies, and an Adult Education Center to convene adults, congregations, teachers, all to revolutionize Zionist and Jewish educational engagement for the decades ahead.
Description: Envision Tomorrow’s Israel aims to solicit ideas for key elements of this Village including dormitories, high school classrooms, conference center space, café’s, houses of worship, outdoor gardens, or entranceways. Additionally, JNF seeks a unique design concept — an iconic structure — as a means for attracting people to the desert city of Be’er Sheva.
Submissions should be guided by JNF’s mission to support conversation, education, and encourage interaction among the Village users. Submissions should be guided by the theme of Zionism, Judaism, innovation, desert environment, and cutting-edge ideas to mitigate climate impact and sustainability.
The narrative is: How does the design integrate into the region of Be’er Sheva? The Middle East? How does the design amplify the history and modern-day relevance of Zionism? How does the design raise questions about identity? Encourage safe space for engagement? How does the design encourage a stimulating and immersive learning environment when studying about Israel IN Israel? How does the design harness Israel’s innovative culture as it relates to reducing the need for non-renewable energy resources? How does the design act as a gateway into JNF’s activities in the Negev?
The competition schedule is as follows:
Submission Opening: 02/04/21
Submission Deadline: 04/15/21
Announcement of finalists: 05/13/21
Results: 06/11/21
The announced jurors for the competition are Michael Arad, David Kaufman, Taal Safdie, Stephen B. Jacobs, Alon Ben-Gurion, Guy Elitzur, and Kenneth Stein.
Download the official competition document and read more about this open call here!