Now we wait...

It's now about 10:30 AM and after a morning of moving things to and from the site, a few of us are trying to get a few hours out of the harsh midday sun while we wait for materials to arrive.  While we have most of our list set, we've had a few wrenches thrown in there in the form of 15% surcharges here and people unwilling to provide transportation there.  All of the labour, materials, and tools that are not provided by our team must fit in a budget of $3,000 or about 11,000 shekels. We have about 60 OSB wood sheets being trucked in from Tel Aviv which is taking up the majority of our budget.  We're hoping to get that all in by this afternoon and begin full work on construction then.

A Brand New Day: 32hours, 40hours to go

We've woken up after a much needed and throughly enjoyed sleep. It is now around 7am in the morning. Plan A has more or less been set last night. Today looks to be hopefully a mostly construction day. Cowboy boots are on. It's go time.

The Slump: 19hours - 53hours to go

It is around 6PM on Sunday here in Bat Yam, we are about 19 hours into the 72 hour urban action competition. The schedule we have listed for ourselves has already gone to shit. There are so many unanticipated factors that keep us from coming even close to a finalized design plan. Although ten people can generate a plethora of great ideas, it is also quite difficult to agree upon one set of ideas. In such a short time frame, it is hard to process all the information that is coming through. Design ideas morph until they become entirely unclear. As I write this now, I have a general vague idea of where we're going, but no solid images of what is to come exist. Hopefully after this nap, everything will be better.

Our mission as given to us last night is titled: The Backyard? The mission is to "transform the space from backyard to front yard without losing its sheltered and relaxed qualities that enable its current uses." The site as it stands is a pedestrian passageway and a alley playground for children. The site is uncomfortable for both uses, and there is some tension between the residents on one side, and a religious school on the other.

Our solution is punchily titled: Urban Tango. The basic aspects of the idea is to create an interaction between the various factors of the site; the people, the children, even the site onto itself and to generate an interaction that changes the site as people come and lay claim to the space. Even for those who merely pass through the site, a difference experience is felt each time depending on the interaction of the people who more actively occupy the site.

With that, I'm off for a nap.

Shabbat Shalom!

There haven't been many updates in a while, but we have arrived in beautiful Bat-Yam, Israel for the 72 Hour Urban Action competition. The competition begins tonight and will end in three days. I don't know how much time I will get to update, (if I'm not working, I should probably be sleeping) but never-less I will try my best. Our team consists of Alex and I from Rice, Four people from OUTr  based in Melbourne Australia, and four Israel locals in the field of architecture and design.