For part 2 of our Be’er Sheva Quarry Park Site Visit series, we are sharing John and Jin’s ground research experience conducted on their recent trip to Israel. Their goal was to gain a better sense of the larger bioregional, geologic, and cultural context of the project site. They immersed themselves in the built and natural environment — learning about local building materials, plants, and construction methodologies.
During visits to local nurseries and botanical gardens they learned about native and culturally important plants such as the date palm, fig, and almond tree, and what plants are commercially available plants at different sizes. They were also able to better appreciate planting and maintenance practices in the Negev Desert climate, witnessing these first hand.
On tours of regional parks such as Ariel Sharon Park (formerly a landfill), they saw examples of contemporary construction detailing and material tolerances. Regional parks also provided them examples of constructed wetland ponds with storm water management systems, which is relevant to designing the hydrological features of the Be’er Sheva Quarry Park.
Stay tuned for the final part of this series, we will be sharing about how the team used virtual reality technology to communicate our design ideas with the client.