TAEQ Environmental Centre -Sakhnin
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Sakhnin
2014
built
Education
Abed Yassin
ِAbed Yassin
Dr. Husein Tarabeih
In this project we made use of traditional building technologies, techniques with an immense cultural and ecological value in the local tradition. They were adapted to the modern requirements and needs of the program.
The program consists of offices, lecture halls’ laboratories, library auditorium and public spaces.
Traditional local Arab architecture inspired the project with its use of inner courtyards and thick massive walls to maintain convenient levels of temperature inside the building.
The Thermic mass of the wall prevents interior overheating during summer and absorbs energy from sunlight and releases it at night to warm the interior during winter.
The masonry was collected from the nearby fields with the help of the local community. And put together using a natural mortar of earth clay earth and straw.
Tall wind towards are used as another passive cooling technique to allow for natural ventilation.
Most of the building’s electrical energy is supplied through the solar system panels dispersed on the roof and southern façade of the building.
In the lecture halls, manually crafted wood ceilings decorate the spaces and provide prober acoustic insulation. The use of these masonry, carpentry and glazing techniques conserved these traditional forms of building and gave support to some the local craftsmen struggling to keep their professions relevant.
The design won first place in the European union prize delivered in 2006 in Tunis.
