Shalem Farm
Shalem farm is located at the entrance to Ariel Sharon Park, adjacent to Salame Road, which historically connected the village of Salame to Jaffa. The name Shalem Farm suggests this connection and is reminiscent of the name Salame. The farm was established in 1949, and acted as an agricultural commune of the “Zera” Cooperative Agricultural Association, which was engaged in growing, developing and producing seeds for agriculture in Israel. The farmlands of the “Zera” company were established on the land of the Arab village of Al-Khiriya, which was occupied as part of Operation ‘Chametz’ in April 1948. The farm dwellers, all experienced farmers from various kibbutzim were entrusted with the essential task of supplying seeds for the emerging agriculture of the young country.
Shalem Farm operated during the first decades of the establishment of the state and became a representative model of an agricultural development in which families of the workers and their children resided and worked. Over the years, broader social and cultural changes coupled with the development of nearby residential settlements, led to a significant decrease in residential use. In its last years, the farm buildings were used as the offices of the “Zera” company, until the final closure in 2012.
The farm plan is evidence of the development of collaborative architectural models in Israel and a representative model of a unique settlement that meets the needs of a modern agricultural settlement program. The residential buildings built in 1953, were placed in such a way as to create a circular center, surrounded by vegetation, with one floor and tiled roofs. The planning allowed for optimal utilization of the climatic and environmental conditions and a guarantee that the tenants would all benefit from similar climatic conditions; The architectural aesthetic aspiration is expressed in buildings immersed in greenery. The circular planning scheme appears to be based on an egalitarian approach endeavoring to create equal conditions for all tenants, as well as reminiscent of the ‘Garden City’ model prevalent during this period.
The five residential buildings in Shalem Farm are uniformly two-family buildings characterized by a neo-rural architectural style that developed in many settlements in Israel at that period. The division of the apartments was functional and expresses the mindset of the period: a communal hall, a dining area, a living room which is also used for sleeping and separate entrances for service and living. The construction technology is typical of the period, and includes a concrete frame, construction with insulated blocks, slopping tiled roofs. The houses and master plan were designed by the office of Sharon-Idelson.
Since its closure in 2012, the farm buildings had fallen into disrepair, their physical condition was poor and details decaying.
The conservation work at Shalem Farm demonstrates the great significance of historical documentation and its pivotal job in the process of making planning decisions about the preservation of a historic site and its conversion to new uses. Alongside the importance of documentation, the status of the new function intended for the historical site and its adaptation to new worldviews stands out.
The farm and its buildings in effect became the ‘entrance gate’ to the park site, both because of its location and because of the close link that exists between the historical value and the environmental value. It is a link that emphasizes the values and importance of historical resources and assets that express them to survive for future generations. Indeed, the farm and the park are evidence of a far-reaching change of mind in the perception of the environment, its components and the ways to preserve them. The built historical values together with environmental values become a holistic whole.