Women in the Tahana Merkazit: Dérive

Lugubrious, gloomy, insalubrious was the first definition of this enormous bus station located in the South of Tel aviv.

4:00 pm until 7:00 pm. Outside, the sky is dark, and women are becoming rare in the area. Therefore, they are mainly using the main entrance ; abandoning the small alleys on the side of the building. This simple observation guided us to the theme of our Derive. How women are using the Tahana Merkazit ?

Once inside, the bus station is over crowded. It seems like the Tahana Merkazit just reached its climax. Friends meeting, family eating, women shopping, children playing around. Suddenly, this dark and huge architectural monster turns out to be a real local and community center, where women are feeling secure. Indeed, those women are coming to the Tahana Merkazit, as a pure social activity, as a proper entertainment without using at all, the transportation services located on the upper floor. Wandering freely and fluently around, they seemed acquainted to those ramps that were leading to tens of different spaces.  

Hence, the space perception is represented by a systematic « decoupage » between the large areas and the numerous ramps that leads to them. Each big central area is served by few low-ceiling ramps, that women use to stroll all over the station.

Despite our preconceptions, the Tahana Merkazit is alive, used, and warmly appreciated for its services, by a certain population group living in the area.

- A real community gathering place -

Ayala Israel – Rachel Lewertowski