UA News

Nine students volunteered for an internship to design a community revitalization and historical preservation plan for the historical city of Birzeit.

Students in the University of Arizona's College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture have had the opportunity to work on a master planning and design proposal for the historic community Birzeit, in the West Bank.

As part of associate professor Mark Frederickson's Tejido Group and RIWAQ, a Ramallah based non-profit organization that aims to protect and develop the architectural heritage of Palestine, the students spent the summer generating community revitalization and development concepts that would retain and highlight the area's historical and cultural foundation.

The Tejido (or fabric) Group is the name Frederickson has given to the apprenticeship-style professional learning environment that provides a hands-on interdisciplinary internship opportunity to faculty members and students to help communities with urban developmental planning and design strategies.

Within three weeks, Tejido developed a conceptual master planning framework for the integration of the new and historic town centers of Birzeit based on a variety of landscape urbanism and architectural strategies.

"This trip has fundamentally changed the way I approach projects. I learned so much and was thankful for the opportunity to work on a real project," said Karen Costello, an honors student in the program.  

The group has tackled projects in Panama, British West Indies and in areas as close as Summer Haven, Ariz.

With the Tejido Group, Frederickson works to connect client need with the group's mission, committing to projects based on three criteria.

"Is the project good for students? Is it a fun and interesting project that is complex and will help them develop into exceptional professionals? Is the project a good thing for the environment and the people living in it?" Frederickson said. "And we look at client need – is the client need worth the commitment of faculty and student time – how greatly does the community need the resources the UA brings to the table?"

He sifts through a dozen or more Tejido proposals from potential clients each month. Only three will make the cut for the year.

Projects are offered to students who are enrolled in architecture and landscape architecture. Projects can be run as a form of student summer employment, or offered as an integal part of interdisciplinary student design studio experience.

Working in Palestine had the students and many of their parents concerned about the area and its safety, but their faith in Frederickson and his years of experience in the area had as many as 25 students interested in working on the project. There was room for the following nine: Andrè Rodrigue, Monique Bassey, Dani Alvarez, Pavel Savine, Marie Taylor, Karen Costello, Mark De La Torre, Kevin Garrison and Jesus Alan Figueroa.

The team spent a week observing the cultural, socioeconomic, functional and environmental aspects of the town and conducted interviews with city officials through an interpreter and focused on learning, respecting and embracing the cultural and historical aspects of the community.

"We learned about a different way of life, and with that, learned a different way to design," said Garrison.

For instance, the team experienced a tree-planting ceremony wherein the whole community, including children, planted trees. Simply watering trees there can be a big stumbling block. "Water is a precious resource in Palestine," Taylor added.  

The team worked on interrelated concepts that ranged in scale from urban connectivity and economic revitalization strategies to specific designs for mixed-use and student housing.

They also worked on the creation of green zones and open spaces to form links among open spaces and existing dwelling and commercial activities in Birzeit. The third dimension of the plan offered more specific architectural and landscape architectural solutions to an array of historic structures in the historic center of Birzeit.

One central concept for the team was to develop a green buffer, which includes parks, agricultural land and general open space surrounding the historic center in an effort to preserve its context and deter encroaching development.

All aspects of the master plan point to the sustainability mission behind the Tejido Group. Frederickson ensures the students are working to meet design criteria including addressing economic, environmental, cultural, functional and aesthetic values.       

"Landscape architecture has the capacity to effect profound change in urban environments. And, it places an array of revitalization tools at our disposal," Frederickson said.

"It can stimulate economic development with modest initial investment. It can purify and preserve our precious air, land and water resources. It can preserve and remediate wildlife habitat. It can encourage meaningful socialization and recreation. It can focus growth and reduce sprawl. And, it can offer an urban respite to soothe an otherwise stressful existence."