Erosion

Context

5th Semester Project (Professor Anne Holtrop), BA Architecture, ETH Zurich

Location

Zurich, Switzerland & Nablus, Palestine

Year

2023

With

Till Nüesch

Materials

Model (Soap, Plaster, Styrofoam), CAD Drawing, Photography

Soap in Palestine has a profound heritage, defying its perception as ephemeral. The production involves raw materials like olive oil and limestone gathered from various sources. Olive trees’ growth to oil production signifies soap’s environmental ties. Soap links production space to the hammam’s use sequence, embodying a cycle from raw materials to dissolution in the hammam. The dressing room symbolizes celebration, boasting unique stone architecture in Nablus and Palestine in general, renowned for its soap-making trad tion. Water running over the soap fountain alters its form, leaving traces as it traverses the dressing room’s canals. Soap’s life cycle in the hammam showcases a lasting tradition in Palestine, highlighting its environmental interconnectivity and celebratory essence. In Nablus soap factory, raw components like olive oil and limestone are mixed and boiled for five days over a fireplace to form liquid soap mass. This mass is - differing from traditional soap production in Palestine -poured into wooden molds, yielding 120kg blocks that dry over time, becoming lighter. The blocks are transported to the hammam, necessitating a rugged journey on narrow paths. In the hammam’s dressing room, the soap tower is constructed after sanding the floor flat. Canals are created along the walls to guide soapy water flow to Al Kuhlwat, completing the soap’s journey within the hammam.