Globes, Guy Nardi, 25.05.2020

 At the beginning of the month, the authors of the Architects Association sent a letter to the government, with proposals to streamline the planning field in Israel in light of the Corona crisis. Alongside demands such as increasing congestion in cities and handling public transportation, and against the need to strengthen peripheral communities, union members seek to take advantage of the Corona crisis to reformulate the Planning and Building Law, And the possibility of self-licensing by the architects. The non-trivial requirement in the architects document is that the state will guarantee the purchase of 80,000 apartments, as it was in the days of Eric Sharon as the Minister of Housing.

What do you do and ensure you buy apartments?

David Knapo, chairman of the Architects Association : "We have joined the contractors in this matter who claim that there is no guarantee of initiation. They say they are not ready to go on adventures. The government needs to provide a safety net. It existed during the time of Eric Sharon. It is part of our greater attempt to free barriers to become a different reality. "

Contractors, by the way, have requested a state commitment to purchase apartments that will not be sold within three years from the date of completion of construction - but not a number. The architects refer their document precisely to Dalit Zilber, CEO of the Planning Administration.

Why did you decide to contact the government now? What do you expect to happen?

"There is a crisis here that shakes up reality and asks it to recalculate a route. The Planning and Building Law has already made dozens of amendments and is completely patched.

"The crisis is the opportunity to bring about a 21st century planning and construction law. I aim for planning to be much more flexible and open and not to have an endless list of mutually contradictory prohibitions. Shortcuts, like the VMA with its ghosts, need a new planning and construction law that emphasizes immediate and available response to the needs of society in Israel. "

In the letter you request the possibility of self-licensing. That is, without the mediation of engineering department officials. So far, architects have opposed it, for insurance reasons. What has changed now?

"There is no likelihood and it is not necessary that I, in order to obtain a building permit, have to show the municipality a fence, window or water course in the building. He is the architect. From my point of view, from that point he can take the responsibility and sign the building permit.

Do you think architects can be trusted to produce quality design without control mechanisms?

"If you were placed with the surgeon's surgeon and bureaucrats while doing head surgery, there is complete certainty that you would not stand up from the operating table. A lot of regulation does not produce proper planning quality. Via Dolorosa on all kinds of tracks. For what? If an architect is wrong, he should be fined. "

In your letter, you are requesting both the overcrowding of the cities and the strengthening of the periphery. How does it sit together?

"The architectural act is essentially social and human. I believe that the buoyancy is important to boost urbanism, and on the other hand, and that is not contradictory, there should be a limit to urban growth. "Good urbanism should be limited. The European model, such as Barcelona, ​​Marseille or Zurich, is more successful than those of Asia and the Third World."

"Fear of epidemics will change planning"

Kenpo is the owner of the architectural firm Kenpo Kalmore, and he says that during the Corona period, his office did not issue any work to the USSR:

"We're in a transition period. We haven't returned to full work yet. It's like someone standing on a stable ground by an abyss. He doesn't even know what the depth of the fault is and if he can move on.

"The mere fact that you will not be approached by Ben Gurion Airport in the next six months, that you will look for your needs in the immediate environment, that there is social remoteness - all these things change the concept of planning and real estate. I believe these things will have a meaning in the community, street, traffic concept. To me, that's perfectly clear. "

How will this be reflected in the architecture seen in the streets?

"Architecture is not just about the material, it is about people. When I design a residence that has aspects of employment, commerce and entertainment, when I think about the virtual density, when I try to ask a question as to whether there is a size limit for a city, my design will not change now at 180 degrees, but Obviously, I have to give a different interpretation to the municipalities, the suburbs, the office buildings, the universities, and even the apartments I plan on. The climate that changes and the fear of epidemics will change the products of the architects' drawing board. "