M.Sc Thesis | |
M.Sc Student | Davidi-Kunda Sigal |
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Subject | The Levant Fair 1934 and the Promotion of Modern Architecture in Eretz Yisrael |
Department | Department of Architecture and Town Planning | Supervisor | PROFESSOR EMERITUS Robertmaurice Oxman |
On April 26th, 1934 the sixth Levant Fair was officially opened in Tel Aviv. This
was an international exhibition with the object of creating economic and trade
ties between countries all over the world and in particular between them, the
Middle East and Palestine. An area of about one hundred dunams, north of the
city between the Yarkon river and the sea, was selected as the site for the
fair. The site was built according to a master plan and was an important design
and urban-planning event. Thirty countries participated in the exhibition which
was a great economic success.
The modern,
western aspect of the fair was intended to demonstrate to the world the nature
of the Zionist enterprise in Palestine with the modern architecture being
central to this presentation. All the buildings were designed specifically
according to International Style principles and were an explicit statement that
these design principles had penetrated the architectural scene of the country
by the early 1930’s.
The 1934 Fair
demonstrated innovation and modernity in presentation, content and design with
the aim of establishing the image of the Jewish society in Palestine as such.
The architects of the fair were openly dedicated to the principles of the new
modernism in Europe while at the same time having ties to the pioneering
Zionism of the country starting from the early 1920’s. The architecture of the
fair was important in demonstrating the cultural and social values of the
Jewish Yishuv.