Open AccessThe Architecture of Separation: Israeli Policy towards the Palestinians in the West Bank
Author(s) -
Paulina Codogni
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
civitas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2720-0353
pISSN - 1428-2631
DOI - 10.35757/civ.2016.19.09
Subject(s) - architecture , emblem , assertion , task (project management) , meaning (existential) , function (biology) , west bank , order (exchange) , symbol (formal) , float (project management) , dimension (graph theory) , law , aesthetics , sociology , computer security , computer science , political economy , history , political science , epistemology , philosophy , mathematics , business , management , ancient history , pure mathematics , economics , archaeology , finance , evolutionary biology , biology , palestine , programming language
According to the classic view of architecture, its primary function is to create spatial law and order so as to improve the functioning of man in the architectural environment. Classical works on the theory of architecture focused on those qualities that portrayed architecture as having a clearly positive dimension, the pursuit of which should be the primary task of an architect. Is it true, however, that architecture has only one common meaning? This assertion is undermined by buildings constructed on borderlands, which are imposed on one community by another. An example is the wall being erected by Israel since 2002 to separate the state from the West Bank. While it has become a symbol of security and order for the Israelis, it is an emblem of enslavement and chaos for the Palestinians who have been trapped on the other side of the barrier.