Absurd-citysubverse-cityaugmented typologies : establishing a subversive arabic architecture typology.

As I reflect on the trip around Israel and the palestinian terri-tories certain recurrant themes have stuck in my mind. one of these was in regards to the fragmentation and decay of arabic identity. Transitioning from Tel aviv, to Ramallah and then to Nazareth a clear narrative arose of architecture and identity. The powerful establishment of a modernist typology within the Isreali territories represents a societies desperate to establish a new identity focused purely on looking forward. In Naza-reth we were met with two architectural narratives, one was a story of decline, the other was of careless intent. Decline was evident in the ruination of the Old City. The carlessness in the conservation attempts just add to the alienation of palestinians living in Israel. In Ramallah there were very few if any exam-ples of the strong identity present within the cities inhabitants, within the architecture of the city. Within Gaza we know that the strict restrictions on the import of construction materials has seriously hindered construction and reconstruction of hous-ing creating a housing crisis. One can almost read the story of identity across the whole region by analysing its architecture. This was shocking as I have never seen such clear seams of so-cial division reflected within the architecture of a place. There-fore I would like to explore the concept of Palestinian identity in architecture.

Approaching the issues of Gaza’s reconstruction from an architectural perspective I wanted to understand the pallette of materials available to play with. Due to the restrictions imposed by Israel the palestinian architect is restricted to only three key ingrediants, dubbed ABC materials in a deal brokered by the UN.

“If we look at the import of ABC materials just through the GRM then it will take 19 years just to reconstruct what was destroyed last year,”

“If we look at the outstanding damage for previous con-flicts we’re up to 22 years and if you look at the overall housing shortage in Gaza then it will take 76 years.”

Vance Culbert, Norweigian Refugee Council country director for Palestine.

From this we can discern that A realistic solution to cre-ating architecture Gazans can be proud must be grown from these ABC materials, making architectural expres-sion almost impossible.

Expression in the digital age happens almost exclu-sively through the internet, so why should gaza be any different? The internet offers Gazans a portal to the rest of the world.

A reuters article on the sale of Iphones in the strip ex-plains that transport and handling costs for all kinds of imports are inflated by bribes paid in Egypt to facilitate the smuggling, and Hamas adds sales tax at its end of the supply chain. But despite the hefty mark-up and high costs in an aid-

dependent territory with a crippled economy, market forces prevail.

People around the world are absorbed by gaming apps and social media sites like instagram which allow them to express and define themselves in a virtual world free from restrictions on creativity, an infinite resource of colours and building blocks.

Despite the restictions on countless products Smart-phone ownership means that many Gazans are carrying a powerful tool with countless uses.

Google cardboard is one of many affordable devices which allows users to turn their smartphones into a virtual reality or augmented reality device. There are free open source templates online for users to print and create their own and plenty of free software to allow people to play with augmented reality. Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It works as a bridge between the virtual and and the real world. Devices can pick up a tag which can be hidden within a book or stuck on a table and virtually projects a pre loaded im-age or model onto it, making it the perfect subversive device.

Instagram allows us to express ourselves by reframing our reality in a way we would like the world to see it. It can be seen as a form of escapism. I would like to integrate the concept of Augmented Reality (AR) with the concept of Instagram and apply the concept as a tool for expression within the architecture of the city.

Gazagramyour key to the subverse-city

I would like to use AR to reconnect Gaza with the outside world. Using technology in Gazans pockets as a portal to ex-hibits from the Palestinian museum and the rest of the world.

Given the restrictions imposed on construction within Gaza I would like to grow a new Palestin-ian typology of circumstance, which showcases the peoples resilience and uses the humiliating ABC materials to create a subversive digital can-vas with infinite possibilities, defined by Palestin-ians themselves. Exploring this concept at the scale of the house, the street, the block and the city.