The Kibbutz Dwelling: Ideology and Design

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between ideology and architecture. The specific case examined is the influence of kibbutz ideology on the design of the family dwelling. The kibbutz in Israel is a unique case among other secular communes in the world, since it was a relatively stable phenomenon that did not fade after the founding generation. Among other reasons, this stability was the outcome of an uncompromising ideological stance within the kibbutz movement in its first 50–60 years. This paper examines the interpretation of three fundamental values of kibbutz ideology (frugality, equality and the rejection of private property) in the architecture of the kibbutz dwelling. The main argument is that, with time, changes in the design and planning of the kibbutz dwelling reflect the strengthening of the status of the traditional nuclear family and recognition of some basic individual rights that were systematically and intentionally ignored in the past. The consistent growth and elaboration of the kibbutz dwelling is a clear external expression of the weakening of kibbutz ideology over time.

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