Architectural Culture in British-Mandate Jerusalem, 1917-1948, Gitler Inbal Ben

• Includes new research on public and civic architecture of Mandate Palestine
• Focuses on four case studies: the Muslim Palestinian Palace Hotel, the Jewish-Zionist Zionist Executive Buildings, the British Palestine Archaeological Museum and the American Jerusalem YMCA Building
• Reveals 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
• Makes a significant contribution to research into the built environments of mixed cities, contested spaces and cities under foreign rule
• Deepens our understanding of present spatial dilemmas and their context within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Four major communities, four buildings constructing their identities in the contested urban space of Jerusalem.

This book examines a fascinating and critical epoch in the architectural history of Jerusalem. It proposes a fresh and analytical discussion of British Mandate-era architecture by studying four buildings that have had a lasting impact on Jerusalems built environment. Applying relational history methodology, the book reveals how these building projects evolved as an outcome of cross-cultural influences and relations among the British, American, Jewish-Zionist and Muslim-Palestinian communities. Further, 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.