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Sports & Leisure Centre in the Bedouin City of Rahat
Sports & Leisure Centre in the Bedouin City of Rahat
Israel
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Other Projects by Inon ben david
Sports & Leisure Centre in the Bedouin City of Rahat
Israel
Firm
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2019
SIZE
10,000 sqft - 25,000 sqft
BUDGET
$10M - 50M
The First of its Kind Sports & Leisure Centre in the Bedouin City of Rahat
The Sports & Leisure Centre in Rahat (The only Bedouin city in Israel and the second largest Arab city after Nazareth) was designed by architect Meidad Gendler, Partner at V5 Architects, as a communal center for sports & leisure activities. The center marks an achievement for the Bedouin people, who were unwelcome for decades in the sport centers of the neighboring Jewish towns.
This project was backed by the Rahat Municipality in collaboration with the Ministry of Construction & Housing, The Ministry of Culture & Sports, and the Ministry of Agriculture, with the aim of bridging the gap between the Bedouin and Jewish communities in Israel.
The center spreads across approx. 6 acres. The developed area that includes external swimming pools spreads across 6,350 sqm with the actual constructed facilities taking up 3,200 sqm. This modern sports center includes a swimming pool that is one of the largest in Israel as well as a toddler pool. Other facilities include a gym, three fitness studios, a cafe, sports courts, and lawns.
The swimming, dance and fitness classes that run regularly, form part of a social activity framework, designed for the community. Although the majority of people in the community cannot swim - this is considered a strategic project in that it sets the foundation for a much-needed change in the community and the developing city.
As this center is the first of its kind in the city, Gendler, who has managed many large sports & leisure development projects in Israel, had to overcome a variety of challenges during the initial planning stages.
The lack of infrastructure and swimming facilities in the community in general and in the city of Rahat specifically, resulted in a lack of awareness around the dangers of water sports & activities.
According to Gendler “To date, the Bedouin community has not been welcomed into the Jewish sports & leisure centres. Until the day it opened its doors to the public, the children of Rahat and surrounding Bedouin villages have had to travel all the way to Um-El-Fahem (1.5 hours journey) in order to partake in water sports & activities.
One of the key objectives of this project was to address the local communities’ basic needs for swimming and sports education as well as leisure”.
Gendler adds “Wellness is a term taken from leisure culture and incorporates all activities that relate to body and mind such as physical activity, pampering, emotional well-being etc. Such activities are usually (but not solely) carried out in sport centers that include gyms, fitness studios, swimming pools, spa facilities etc., and it is exactly what we aimed to provide for the local community. All efforts were made to create a facility that would run local swimming lessons and expose the community to an activity that until today was mostly unavailable. One of the main aims was to educate the Rahat residents and surrounding villages on the importance of swimming skills, a healthy active lifestyle and engagement in well-being leisure activities”.
The project plan took into consideration the features of the existing location and the valley it overlooks. The facility has two levels with the entrance itself situated on the top level where the swimming pool is located. A sunroof, which overlooks the valley, is located above the gym and forms part of the enclosed pool space during the summer months. Gendler and his team made use of the sloping topography to create a one level entrance facade with a wide view of the valley. The dimensions of the pool itself allowed the creation of 8 swimming lanes, maximizing the utilization of the pool at any given time.
The stages of planning and construction, apart from the initial project presentation and its approval by the Ministry of Communities & Housing, were all carried out directly with the Rahat Municipality, which understood the importance of the project and worked tirelessly to promote the center.
.
The center was designed to allow complete segregation between men and women, and throughout the planning stages, adjustments were made to accommodate for the needs of the potential users. “Due to the cultural need for gender segregation, the glass partitions in the pool area were covered to prevent visibility”, explains Gendler. “From my acquaintance with the Bedouin culture, I find it has many similarities with the Jewish one, and thus there are not that many differences in the architectural planning for both religious communities. I also hope that in time, the complete gender segregation within the Bedouin community will be relaxed”.
The Bedouin - or Bedu - are a group of nomadic people of Arab & Semitic cultures. The English word Bedouin comes from the Arabic word Badawٱ, which means "desert dweller". The Bedouins are traditionally divided into tribes or clans, and historically inhabited the desert regions of North Africa, The Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and the Levant. In Israel the vast majority live in the south of the country, mainly in villages, and about a 1/3 live in the north. They make up 3.5% of Israel's population.
Photos by: Ofer Ivri
The Sports & Leisure Centre in Rahat (The only Bedouin city in Israel and the second largest Arab city after Nazareth) was designed by architect Meidad Gendler, Partner at V5 Architects, as a communal center for sports & leisure activities. The center marks an achievement for the Bedouin people, who were unwelcome for decades in the sport centers of the neighboring Jewish towns.
This project was backed by the Rahat Municipality in collaboration with the Ministry of Construction & Housing, The Ministry of Culture & Sports, and the Ministry of Agriculture, with the aim of bridging the gap between the Bedouin and Jewish communities in Israel.
The center spreads across approx. 6 acres. The developed area that includes external swimming pools spreads across 6,350 sqm with the actual constructed facilities taking up 3,200 sqm. This modern sports center includes a swimming pool that is one of the largest in Israel as well as a toddler pool. Other facilities include a gym, three fitness studios, a cafe, sports courts, and lawns.
The swimming, dance and fitness classes that run regularly, form part of a social activity framework, designed for the community. Although the majority of people in the community cannot swim - this is considered a strategic project in that it sets the foundation for a much-needed change in the community and the developing city.
As this center is the first of its kind in the city, Gendler, who has managed many large sports & leisure development projects in Israel, had to overcome a variety of challenges during the initial planning stages.
The lack of infrastructure and swimming facilities in the community in general and in the city of Rahat specifically, resulted in a lack of awareness around the dangers of water sports & activities.
According to Gendler “To date, the Bedouin community has not been welcomed into the Jewish sports & leisure centres. Until the day it opened its doors to the public, the children of Rahat and surrounding Bedouin villages have had to travel all the way to Um-El-Fahem (1.5 hours journey) in order to partake in water sports & activities.
One of the key objectives of this project was to address the local communities’ basic needs for swimming and sports education as well as leisure”.
Gendler adds “Wellness is a term taken from leisure culture and incorporates all activities that relate to body and mind such as physical activity, pampering, emotional well-being etc. Such activities are usually (but not solely) carried out in sport centers that include gyms, fitness studios, swimming pools, spa facilities etc., and it is exactly what we aimed to provide for the local community. All efforts were made to create a facility that would run local swimming lessons and expose the community to an activity that until today was mostly unavailable. One of the main aims was to educate the Rahat residents and surrounding villages on the importance of swimming skills, a healthy active lifestyle and engagement in well-being leisure activities”.
The project plan took into consideration the features of the existing location and the valley it overlooks. The facility has two levels with the entrance itself situated on the top level where the swimming pool is located. A sunroof, which overlooks the valley, is located above the gym and forms part of the enclosed pool space during the summer months. Gendler and his team made use of the sloping topography to create a one level entrance facade with a wide view of the valley. The dimensions of the pool itself allowed the creation of 8 swimming lanes, maximizing the utilization of the pool at any given time.
The stages of planning and construction, apart from the initial project presentation and its approval by the Ministry of Communities & Housing, were all carried out directly with the Rahat Municipality, which understood the importance of the project and worked tirelessly to promote the center.
.
The center was designed to allow complete segregation between men and women, and throughout the planning stages, adjustments were made to accommodate for the needs of the potential users. “Due to the cultural need for gender segregation, the glass partitions in the pool area were covered to prevent visibility”, explains Gendler. “From my acquaintance with the Bedouin culture, I find it has many similarities with the Jewish one, and thus there are not that many differences in the architectural planning for both religious communities. I also hope that in time, the complete gender segregation within the Bedouin community will be relaxed”.
The Bedouin - or Bedu - are a group of nomadic people of Arab & Semitic cultures. The English word Bedouin comes from the Arabic word Badawٱ, which means "desert dweller". The Bedouins are traditionally divided into tribes or clans, and historically inhabited the desert regions of North Africa, The Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and the Levant. In Israel the vast majority live in the south of the country, mainly in villages, and about a 1/3 live in the north. They make up 3.5% of Israel's population.
Photos by: Ofer Ivri
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