Heart.Sea.Region

From shelter to refuge – the human need for physical and mental freedom is heightened in times of instability and danger. Open spaces such as the sea are conducive to a recalibration of the proportional relationship between people and nature. The eastern Mediterranean shore is characterized by a linear coastline that meets the movement of the sea from the west head-on. Throughout history, these conditions have led to the development of local solutions for accessibility and connection between the sea and the land. Coastal engineering led to the proliferation of breakwaters which shape the coastline and provide a physical barrier between the city and the sea. Against this background, the project examines the possibility of thinking of breakwaters not only as an engineering tool, but as infrastructure for public spaces and a new approach to the sea. The planning proposal focuses on Jaffa’s maritime space, and the limited access to it after the coastline was reshaped and demarcated using breakwaters – a process that fundamentally altered the encounter between the city and the sea. The project proposes innovative solutions for this area, balancing the architectural fantasy of urban expansion into the sea with the aim of maintaining a public, open, and accessible seafront. By acting as anchors for architectural intervention, the breakwaters will be transformed from a physical barrier into an active public space, situated at the heart of the sea.