The Divided Utopia of Neve Shaanan | 2009 | 24 min.
8 comments on the New Central Bus Station of Tel Aviv, a Video Essay
This gigantic concrete building is not only the world's biggest bus station, but it is also well known as an example for disastrous architecture. Planned by ambitious architect Ram Karmi and financed through the tough business practices of Arie Pilz this megalomaniac enterprise destroyed an entire neighborhood and turned it into the dark back yard of Tel Aviv. Still the bus station didn’t become the flourishing center as its planners thought it should be. Once again neglected by the establishment this place followed its own path. The surroundings of the bus station became the center for the marginalized people of the city, homeless, drug addicts and day laborer. At the same time its interior became the heart of daily life and cultural center of the heterogeneous community of migrant workers.