Welfare Association Selects HPA to masterplan and design the Palestinian Museum

Through an extensive selection process The Welfare Association (WA) has appointed Heneghan Peng Architects (HPA) to master plan and design the Palestinian Museum which will be located in Birzeit in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. HPA will be responsible for Master planning a phased development of the Palestinian Museum on a very important site leased from  Birzeit University, near to Ramallah font-size: 11pt">.

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font-size: 8pt">Selection Jury

font-size: 8pt">: (Standing, from right): Eng. Martyn Best, Dr. Faris Nimry,

font-size: 8pt"> Ms. Sawsan Asfari, Dr. Olga Nefedova, (on screen: Dr. Sahar Huneidi,

font-size: 8pt"> Mr. Victor Kashkoush), Mr. Omar Qattan, Dr. Khalil Hindi, Eng. font-size: 8pt"> Luay

font-size: 8pt"> Khoury, Eng. Hasan Hilmi, (seated, from right): Ms. Zina Jardaneh,

Dr. Shadia Touqan, Dr. Nabi H. Qaddumi 

The selection process commenced in June 2011 with over 40 architects submitting expressions of interest in the project. 5 Architects were shortlisted and invited to prepare initial conceptual and technical submissions. Presentations were made on 2 and 3 December in London by the 5 Architects; Consolidated Consultants from Amman Jordan, Edward Cullinan Architects from London, Henning Larsen from Copenhagen, Heneghan Peng from Dublin and Moriyama and Teshima from Toronto.

The Palestinian Museum will be designed to be constructed in 2 phases with the first phase of 2,500 m2 to be completed by 2014. The construction budget for the first Phase will be around US$8 million. The second phase will be in the order of 5,000 m2 and will be developed following the opening of Phase 1.  

The Palestinian Museum will be a unique cultural project and is being developed to become the primary and most authoritative source of knowledge and new thinking about Palestinian history, culture and contemporary life. Such a space does not currently exist. The Museum is conceived as a thematic rather than simply a narrative museum, in which many different aspects of Palestinian history and culture will be explored in innovative and revealing ways, creating debate and discussion about both past and contemporary themes.

font-size: 11pt">The Palestinian Museum project has been in gestation for over a decade and has gone through a number of different stages of debate, thinking and rethinking. After a great deal of internal discussion and external consultation, the Welfare Association is now totally confident that the overall strategy and concept direction allow for the Palestinian Museum to be built. font-size: 11pt">Because of the nature of the Palestinian reality, where a majority of Palestinians are today living outside historic Palestine (i.e. Israel and the Occupied Territories); and because of the barriers and checkpoints erected by Israel which prevent the freedom of movement of Palestinians living under occupation (and prevent most Palestinians in the Diaspora from even entering any part of their country), the Museum is conceived as a hub which, in addition to catering to the population in the West Bank, will also serve a network of branches and associated centres, sharing with them information, research, web-based material and touring exhibitions, as well as human resources and expertise.

The Palestinian Museum Selection Process

The Architectural selection process was organised by Projacs of Kuwait and Cultural Innovations from London. Projacs are providing Project Management services for the Palestinian Museum. Cultural Innovations are Museological and Strategic Advisers and have worked for 2 years with the Welfare Association to develop the Strategic Plan and Design Briefs which are the basis for the Palestinian Museum’s development. WA has recently appointed Dr. Faris Nimry as Director of the Palestinian Museum as of first of January 2012.

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