The “HaLulim (Chicken Coop) Neighborhood” is a residential renewal project located in Kibbutz Ramat HaShofet, named after the former chicken coops that once occupied the site.
The project embodies a sensitive and harmonious integration of contemporary residential development within the rural landscape, while preserving the distinct social and spatial identity of the kibbutz.
The primary planning concept is openness to the landscape. The neighborhood is designed to provide uninterrupted 180 degree open views, free of visual obstructions, toward the’ Shalom Valley’ and the ‘Menashe region’. Every home within the neighborhood enjoys an open landscape view, ensuring a strong and continuous connection between built form and nature.
The overarching goal of the design is to embed the new neighborhood seamlessly within the existing landscape, allowing it to appear as an organic and natural extension of the surrounding open spaces rather than a dominant or foreign intervention.
At the architectural scale, the houses are oriented and positioned to maximize views, natural light, and visual continuity with the greenery, reinforcing a sense of immersion in the landscape.
A key design challenge was the creation of a modern, accessible, and safe living environment while respecting the kibbutz’s social fabric and responding to the site’s complex topography. This was addressed through a comprehensive landscape infrastructure strategy, including stone terraces and gravity retaining walls built from local natural stone, circulation pathways and reinforced concrete stairways connecting elevation differences, and advanced planting and irrigation systems.
Infrastructure systems—drainage, sewage, communications, and lighting—were carefully concealed to maintain visual continuity. The project’s uniqueness is further reflected in its execution process, which prioritized phased construction, uninterrupted daily life, close community coordination, and strict adherence to environmental and safety standards.
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