Dgania B

What is a kibbutz in 2026?

What is a home in a kibbutz in 2026?

What should be preserved from the kibbutz of the past, and what needs to change?

These were the three fundamental questions that guided us after we were invited to participate in a closed architectural competition for the design of the new Bananas Neighbourhood in Kibbutz Degania Bet.

Many more questions followed. Some were familiar from the architectural profession, while others touched on history, memory and everything embodied in the words Degania, the valley and the beginnings of Zionist settlement in the Land of Israel.

After thinking, proposing, testing, rejecting and thinking again, we began to distil what truly mattered to us - what, in our view, defines a kibbutz in 2026.

We knew we wanted the particular green of the lawns and the traditional kibbutz landscape. We wanted the informal relationships between neighbours and the delicate, precise boundary between private and public. We wanted the neighbourhood to feel comfortable, accessible and simple, just as the old kibbutz feels to us.

We knew that neighbours are friends, but we also understood that even friends sometimes need boundaries.

The Bananas Neighbourhood is intended for young couples whose building resources are currently limited, whose families may grow and whose needs will change over time. They need flexibility - architectural, functional and financial.

We therefore sought to give them the ability to adapt their homes easily, almost like Lego: adding one block above another, moving an existing element to a new position, and allowing the house to develop gradually according to changing needs.

The aim was to make this process simple, accessible and possible.

We spent valuable time in the Bananas Neighbourhood and worked closely with architect Nimrod Cohen - a friend, a partner in the project, a former long-time moshav resident and now a young kibbutz member.

Planning in Collaboration with: Architect Nimrod Cohen

מהו קיבוץ בשנת 2026, ומהו בית בקיבוץ בתקופה הזאת? מה ראוי לשמר מן הקיבוץ הישן, ומה חייב להשתנות?

השאלות האלה עמדו בבסיס ההצעה שלנו לשכונת הבננות החדשה בקיבוץ דגניה ב׳. ביקשנו לשמור על הירוק הקיבוצי, על היחסים הבלתי פורמליים בין השכנים ועל הגבול העדין שבין הפרטי לציבורי, אך גם להכיר בכך שמשפחות צעירות זקוקות לפרטיות, לגמישות וליכולת לצמוח.

לכן תוכננו בתים שיכולים להשתנות לאורך זמן, כמעט כמו לגו: להוסיף נפח, להזיז אלמנט ולאפשר לבית להתפתח בהתאם לצרכים המשתנים וליכולת הכלכלית של המשפחה.

המטרה הייתה ליצור שכונה פשוטה, נגישה וגמישה, שממשיכה את רוח הקיבוץ אך מתאימה לחיים של היום.

‍ ‍ What is a Kibbutz in 2026? What is a home in a Kibbutz in 2026? What should be preserved from the Kibbutz of the past, and what needs to be changed? These were the three fundamental questions that ran through our minds after we were invited
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