מהים ועד היום

In my thesis, I chose to deal with the relationship between adaptive reuse, locality and local identity. Reuse refers to the repurposing of an existing structure. This process breathes new life into structures that have become 'obsolete' physically, economically or culturally by converting them into something useful and relevant for the environment and society. In these projects, there is an opportunity to give a new interpretation to the history of the place and thus strengthen the local belonging and identity of the community. In my project, I dealt with the skeleton of the old asbestos factory located on the beach in Nahariya, which I designated as a recreation and leisure complex for the city's residents to balance body and mind, which unites a water sports club and wellness areas. I aspired to create a rolling and dynamic dialogue between the city's history and the current local identity while thinking about the well-being of the residents, improving daily life in the city and the needs of the community. These are expressed in my planning principles, including the presence of the sea, which was a significant route in my life and the city's economy in the past, blurring interior-exterior relations, a broad, layered perspective, and emphasizing the existing. The benefits of adaptive reuse projects are many and varied, including aspects of sustainability, economic cost-effectiveness, preservation of social heritage, urban renewal, revitalization of old spaces, and more, with each project bringing with it a varying mix of these. There is no question that reuse is positive, but what is the place of such a project in contributing to the city and its residents? These projects will often be 'site-specific' and symbolize local history within their walls in order to strengthen local belonging and identity. However, it sometimes seems that this historical value constitutes a sufficient reference to the local context, even though the historical values ​​applicable to such a structure do not always connect to the values ​​of the place, needs, or community in the present. Relying solely on historical value as a predictor of a successful building for the city and its residents may, in my opinion, lead to a building that is disconnected from the needs and actual identity of the community – on the one hand, with a collective memory, and on the other, with no connection to everyday life. In my research, I addressed the question of how local needs and local identity are actually expressed in an adaptive reuse project that also expresses historical significance and collective identity? Consider the case study of the Eitanit factory in Nahariya