The Al-Qattan Foundation inaugurated this Thursday in Ramallah, building of its new headquarters that will be future epicenter of culture, training and innovation in Palestinian city. A 7,730 m2 project carried out by a team of Spanish architects that has become first building registered with recently approved Palestinian sustainability code. "Ramallah, as a city, is not prepared to build on sustainability criteria because public network was not conceived for it.That's why it wasn't an easy project. Still, building meets international standards and we have reached Silver category, "explains Juan Pedro Donaire, chief architect of Seville studio Donaire Arquitectos. A challenge that began five years ago when y were selected in an international competition to design ambitious project, in which family of philanthropists of Palestinian origin, Al-Qattan, has invested 21 million of dollars (about 18 million euros). "Of three finalists-from Spain, Palestine and United Kingdom-we chose work of Spaniards for functionality, aestics, use of space and its integration into environment," recognizes Omar al-Qattan, Director of foundation who has traveled from London for occasion. The building is made up of a stone plinth built on terrace-where exhibition hall, atre, painting and music workshops as well as a multipurpose room-and a glass tower protected from sun by aluminium slats, which houses headquarters of Icinas and library-dedicated to Leila Miqdadi al-Qattan, co-founder of 2,016-deceased foundation.The latter is one of most impressive spaces of cultural complex with spectacular views of an olive valley. Its entrance is marked by a large aluminium lattice, manufactured in Seville, which mimics traditional Palestinian embroidery and was designed by a study of Palestinian artists based in Amman. Like his far, Abdel Mohsin al-Qattan-founder of project, who died last December-Omar al-Qattan, believes that spaces like this are needed to promote cultural Revolution that Arab world needs and particularly territories Palestinians."In 1948 Palestinians lost ir cities: Jaffa, Haifa, Acre Tiberias and 67 was worse with loss of Jerusalem. Every society needs civil centers to develop, to grow, and this project I hope will contribute modestly to that, "explains British philanthropist. His family, expelled from city of Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, during war that erupted after birth of state of Israel, in 1,948, made a fortune in decade of 70 dedicated to construction in Gulf countries, mainly in Kuwait where They built airport and several universities. "The occupation affects everything. To manage something here you have to be really imaginative. Many Palestinian experts live outside and have no chance to come to work here, which makes it very difficult for us to do so, "explains director of Al-Qattan Foundation. In fact, most of delays that building has undergone are derived from bureaucracy y have to save to import materials and difficulty of hiring skilled labor."Builders have a hard time keeping good professionals who prefer to work in Israel because y earn more money," says Donaire. Building a sustainable complex in an area that is practically outside sustainability criteria implies that most of building materials come from abroad, many of m from Spain. The aluminium of windows is of a Galician company of Cortizo and aluminium slats that protect glass structure of tower, where new offices of Foundation are, come from Seville. "They are designed to make highest energy performance in natural light in both winter and summer.They make filter, curtain, but it favors not to use so much electric light, "explains Spanish architect. The gilded stone of which it is made-typical of area, known as Stone of Jerusalem-is also placed with sustainable criterion "We have left an air chamber so that re are no sudden changes of temperature and interior air conditioning is maintained", explains Donaire. A target for which y have also imported, on this occasion from Kuwait, special glasses that allow a lot of light to pass, but not heat. What has not come for inauguration-in charge in United States-are wooden slats that will cover roof. For that bureaucracy and for " lack of experience of local contractor in such management," recognizes Omar Al-Qattan.Waste management is anor of great novelties of complex. "In basement has three deposits: one to be used in case of fire, anor for collection of rainwater, which is used for irrigation and a third gray waters that are filtered and reused in toilets," explains Estela Quintero , architect in charge of supervision at work. The team of Spanish architects, also part of Oscar Ortega and María Eugenia Falder, works against clock so that complex can operate at full capacity in September and so that cafeteria and terrace that joins two parts of building, can Open its doors this month of July. In addition to aspiring to be cultural beacon that shines Palestine, new Al-Qattan Center will be an educational and research space for non-curricular training to work closely with or foundation spaces such as Qattan Center for Education Children in Gaza, ir subsidiary in Beirut or Mosaic Rooms Center in London, first one that organization created to expand its values and that sometimes collaborates with Arab House in Spain. Until next August, in showroom of new headquarters of Al-Qattan Foundation in Ramallah, you can see exhibition "Subcontracted nations" in which are exhibited works of more than sixty local and international artists focused on visitor Reflect on identity issues and need for state. "I hope someday to be able to sponsor something like this in Jerusalem and perhaps in Jaffa," says Omar Al-Qattan."Surrogate nations", a reflection on necessity of state The three epiphanies of Austrian Irish artist, Gottfried Helnwein, occupy a privileged space within exhibition "Nations Surrogacy" which, until next August, is exhibited in Cultural Center of Foundation Al-Qattan, in Ramallah. His madonnas with a child surrounded by Nazi officials, taken from emblematic scenes of Hitler's regime, will not leave anyone indifferent. It is his way of denouncing moral complicity with Nazism of Catholic Church of Pope Pius XII during Second World War. "The artist wants us to reflect on surrogate states that arose as a result of rise of Nazism in Europe,"explains Yazid Anani, curator of exhibition.A sample in which you can also see notes stamped with face of Palestinian leader Yaser Arafat, work of local artist Bisan Abu-Eisheh and outlining a critique of fact that Palestinian Authority uses Israeli as a currency, which is no longer Occupying Power currency. "The artist argues that in order to stop being a surrogate state, Palestine has to stop supporting its economy in Israeli currency," says Anani. It is a sample plagued by allegories of freedom, unity and need for social cohesion to ensure that se nations cease to be subrogation. The exhibition was conceived a year and a half ago but, delays in construction of new Cultural center Al-Qattan, made it so far could not open its doors.
