Ariel Sharon Park – Main Entrance

Park Ariel Sharon has been in the making over a decade.

The park includes an area of ​​118 hectares and is comprised of distinct landscapes include the Hiriya landfill, agricultural areas and the Ayalon River, Shapirim River and Kofar Stream. We serve as the local architects for the Peter Latz and Co architects who won an international competition for planning the park, in addition to long-term activities, our office is involved in the planning and execution of temporary interventions such as cycling paths within the agricultural areas, temporary groves among others.

The extra metropolitan park serves as a central green amenity in Gush Dan metropolitan area. The project combines the reclamation of natural habitats, shelter for endangered species, runoff water management, the creation of flood planes and water retention in the park. Some of the ecological infrastructures are visible and some are hidden from view. The combination of infrastructures and landscapes creates a skeleton of nature in the heart of the metropolis.

The agricultural fields on the site, which have been cultivated over the years, were sprayed with pesticides and fertilizers, contaminating streams from the mountain ridges and the drainage of nearby cities. The development of the parks infrastructure took into consideration its environmental history works to clean up and remediate polluters, create conditions that promote natural habitats and reprogram the site as an active park for education, sports, recreation and culture for the residents of Gush Dan and Israel.

From the time of the establishment of the State of Israel until 1998, the site served as the main landfill for Gush Dan waste. For many years, the country’s “garbage heap” was a symbol of environmental, health and safety hazards, until the beginning of the rehabilitation process during the 2000s. The area of ​​the landfill is 450 dunams, rising 70 meters above ground, and contains about 16 million cubic meters of various types of waste. The process of rehabilitating the mountain and turning it into a park is considered a complex reclamation project based on the principles of sustainable development.