ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

- CONTENT -
DAVID BAST (1928–SEPTEMBER 2017) WAS AN ISRAELI ARCHITECT.

THE BEGINNING OF THE ROAD (1952-1928)
ST. WAS BORN IN LIVERPOOL, UK. IN 1951, HE GRADUATED FROM THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER AND IN 1952 IMMIGRATED TO ISRAEL. HIS FINAL WORK IN HIS ACADEMIC STUDIES PRESENTED A DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY CAMPUS ON THE SITE IN WHICH HE WAS FOUNDED IN THE DAYS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF RABBI YUVAL.

PUBLIC SERVICE (1963–1952)
UPON HIS RISE TO ISRAEL, HE WAS ADMITTED TO A MEETING AT THE ARCHITECT RICHARD KAUFMAN IN JERUSALEM (MAKING MORO AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER CLIFFORD HOLLIDAY, WHO WORKED IN THE COUNTRY FOR THE BRITISH MANDATE GOVERNMENT). KAUFMAN HELPED HIM GET A JOB IN THE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER AND PHOTOGRAPHER JACOB IN THE LIGHT OF CLUTTER. HE THEN WENT TO WORK IN THE PLANNING OF THE GOVERNMENT IN JERUSALEM WITH THE ARCHITECT OF JOSEPH CALWIN, AND FROM WHICH HE MOVED TO WORK WITH THE ARCHITECT WOLF RATTER IN TEL AVIV.

IN 1955, ARTHUR GLYSON OFFERED HIM THE MAIN ARCHITECT OF THE HOUSING DIVISION AT THE MINISTRY OF LABOR (FOR DAYS, THE MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION AND HOUSING), THE ROLE OF THE DEPUTY MAIN ARCHITECT. AS PART OF HIS WORK, DURING THIS STORMY PERIOD OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE COUNTRY, HE WAS INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF MANY NEW CITIES AND SETTLEMENTS THAT WERE ESTABLISHED AT THE TIME THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, PREPARING FATHER PROGRAMS FOR EXISTING CITIES SUCH AS TIBERIAS AND NAZARETH. IT WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN PLANNING ROADS BETWEEN URBAN AND PLANNING AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MANY PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES DESIGNED AND BUILT BY THE HOUSING DIVISION.

AN INDEPENDENT WAY (1963-)

AFTER FIVE YEARS IN PUBLIC SERVICE, HE OPENED A PRIVATE ARCHITECTURAL OFFICE IN COOPERATION WITH ARCHITECT ADAM EYAL. IN 1963, THE TWO WERE INVITED TO PLAN THE FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD IN RIYADH, WHICH WAS A BREAKTHROUGH IN URBAN PLANNING IN ISRAEL. THE NEIGHBORHOOD’S UNIQUENESS IS EXPRESSED IN THE FACT THAT THE STRUCTURES DEFINED AND FOUGHT OPEN AREAS AND PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS, AND THE PLANNING OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS REFERRED TO THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POPULATION. THE YAZI NEIGHBORHOOD WAS A MODEL FOR PLANNING NEW NEIGHBORHOODS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, AND FOLLOWING ITS SUCCESS, HE RECEIVED MANY JOBS FOR PLANNING NEIGHBORHOODS AND BUILDINGS IN THE JORDAN ITSELF AND OTHER TOWNS AND TOWNS, INCLUDING IN THE WING, IN THE TOWER OF THE VALLEY, IN BEER SHEVA AND EILAT.

IN THE RURAL SETTLEMENT, A BUSINESS IN A REGIONAL PLANNING SET, AND IN THIS FRAMEWORK HE DESIGNED SETTLEMENTS SUCH AS A DEFENSIVE KIBBUTZ, IN WHICH HE BROKE THE QUINTESSENTIAL CONAISSANCE THAT WAS CUSTOMARY AT THE TIME AND BASED ON RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS ARRANGED IN ROWS ALONG PATHS, AND INSTEAD DESIGNED A CLUSTER OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS EACH OF WHICH DEFINES A JOINT OPEN SPACE WITH THE OPEN LANDSCAPE OF THE PATIENT VALLEY.

AT THE SAME TIME, HE BEGAN TO DEAL WITH COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND PLANNED IN COOPERATION WITH GEORGE CANLS THE CAESAREAN HOTEL IN THE INVITATION OF BARON EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD.

IN 1967, THE STANDARD WAS COMPLETED IN PLANNING CITIES AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IN BOSTON. WITH HIS RETURN TO HIS OFFICE, HE EXPANDED HIS OFFICE TO 40 EMPLOYEES, AND EVEN OPENED TWO OFFICES IN JERUSALEM, INCLUDING THE FATHER’S PROGRAM FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE JERUSALEM CENTER. THIS PROGRAM, WAS THE FIRST PROGRAM AFTER THE CITY'S UNIFICATION, IN WHICH URBAN DECISIONS WERE MADE IN PRINCIPLE OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING THIS: THE HIGH-RISE CONSTRUCTION POLICY THAT MAINTAINED LOW CONSTRUCTION IN THE VISUAL BASIN OF THE OLD CITY, THE ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF GENES IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY SUCH AS THE RIVER BELL GARDEN, PEDESTRIAN STREETS (FROM BEN YEHUDA STREET), AS WELL AS THE RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION OF AREAS, INCLUDING NEIGHBORHOOD.

AT THE SAME TIME, ST. ALSO DEALT WITH THE PLANNING OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF EAST AFFAIRS, IN WHICH MANY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AND MOST OF THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS, WHICH RULED THEM AS THE SLYGGSBERG SCHOOL. DURING THE PLANNING, HE WORKED FOR PUBLIC COOPERATION IN PLANNING AND MANAGING THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND WAS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD’S MANAGER IN COLLABORATION WITH THE PLANNER SARAH KAMINKER. THIS MODEL, OF A MANAGER LOCATED IN THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE COMMISSIONER’S PALACE RANGE, AND NOT AS OTHERS WANTED, ON THE NORTHERN SIDE FACING THE NORTH SIDE