How architecture constructs communal identities in the contested urban space of Jerusalem
Examining a fascinating and critical epoch in the architectural history of Jerusalem, this book presents a fresh and analytical discussion of British Mandate-era architecture through an exploration of 4 buildings that have had a lasting impact on the city's built environment. The author reveals how these building projects evolved as an outcome of cross-cultural influences and relations between the British, American, Jewish-Zionist and Muslim-Palestinian communities. And she shows how the building and design processes behind these structures give new perspectives on the adaptation of modern architecture in the Middle East and the negotiation of historicism and vernacular architecture during the first half of the 20th century.

Key Features
¿ Focuses on 4 case studies: the Muslim Palestinian Palace Hotel; the Jewish-Zionist Zionist Executive Buildings; the British Palestine Archaeological Museum (the Rockefeller Museum); and the American Jerusalem YMCA Building
¿ Shows the major role that architecture and architectural culture had in constructing communal and national identities in Jerusalem and in Mandate Palestine
¿ Increases our understanding of the interaction between cultural forces in the Middle East and the emergence of 20th-century architectural culture in Israel/Palestine
¿ Includes 50 colour and 74 black-and-white illustrations

Inbal Ben-Asher Gitler is a Senior Lecturer of Architecture and Visual Culture at Sapir Academic College, and an adjunct lecturer at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. She is co-editor of Israel As a Modern Architectural Laboratory, 1948-1978 (2019).

Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations; List of Figures; Introduction; 1. A Holy City for the Twentieth Century: Urban Planning during the British Mandate; 2. Appropriating Multi-Histories: The Palestine Archaeological Museum; 3. Americans Imagining Jerusalem: The Jerusalem YMCA Building; 4. Constructing Palestinian Identity: The Palace Hotel; 5. Constructing Zionist Identity: The Zionist Executive Building; Conclusion: Buildings, communities; Bibliography.