To the Land of Lakes

To the Land of Lakes | A New Perspective on Water Reservoirs: From Engineering Infrastructure to a Multi-functional Fabric

This project proposes a new concept, in which the water reservoirs are regarded as landscape infrastructure, while maintaining their engineering functionality. The construction of the water reservoirs in Israel, are part of the quest for creative solutions for making water available in a land with limited water.

The project looks into Emek-Hefer regional council and aims to expose the connection between the urban and the rural space. On the one hand, the city supplies water for agriculture through the purification of wastewater; while on the other hand, the agricultural areas comprise a green lung at the heart of the built area.

As an example of the potential of water reservoirs, the project focuses on one embankment, which includes an area of 4.5 hectares. The embankment divides the space into two types of landscape: WaterFront and AgriFront, offering new viewpoints that are presently blocked. The plan opens the reservoir to the neighboring area, allowing a new experience of water and of a view to the distance, and at the same time proposes solutions for maintaining the function of the reservoir as engineering infrastructure. The WaterFront is designed in an intensive manner, similarly to the planning of natural water bodies. In contrast, the AgriFront aims to maintain an extensive design that blends in with the surrounding agricultural landscape.

The planning produces a multi-functional fabric that tells the story of wastewater in the agricultural landscape and reinforces the importance of open areas in the central and most densely populated part of the country.