ירושלים המיימית

The history of Jerusalem has been directly shaped by its water supply. Unlike other major cities, it does not lie on a large river or close to significant trade routes. The topography and the limited water sources in its surroundings made life particularly difficult for its inhabitants, leading over thousands of years to creative solutions that enabled the city to develop. Hezekiah’s Pool is one of those solutions. It was built at the end of the Second Temple period and was used to collect surface runoff. The pool covers an area of approximately 2,800 square meters and was hewn into the bedrock in an area that was then on the outskirts of the city. As the surrounding urban fabric developed, the pool gradually ceased to function as a runoff reservoir, and water was instead supplied to it through aqueducts from nearby sources. It remained in use until the end of the 19th century. The site is one of the most prominent—and relatively rare—remnants of the complex water-supply system of that period. Walking through the alleys surrounding the pool in the Christian Quarter gives almost no indication of what lies beyond the buildings, as the pool is enclosed and concealed by the structures around it. Today, the pool is in a neglected condition that does not reflect its historical importance, including large amounts of waste thrown into it from nearby buildings. This project examines a focused intervention within the sensitive historic urban fabric, based on an understanding of the site’s inherent potential. The aim is to make Hezekiah’s Pool accessible and visible by transforming it into an urban square. This would begin with opening new entrances to the site, as well as creating a new public program for the square. The intervention would require the demolition of part of the buildings along the western side of the pool in order to create a new structure divided into two parts, containing a museum dedicated to the history of water in Jerusalem and a community center for the Christian Quarter.