Kroyanker, David Architect. Jerusalem, the story of a road the story of a town: The planning and developing of Menachem Begin boulevard 1930-1998. 1998: p. 153,166-76,183
The Rupin Promenade and the “Sabra Flower Ascent” Park
In a long and narrow strip, located between the Beth Hakerem neighborhood and Herzl Boulevard, in Jerusalem, south-west from the Rupin Bridge the sculptor Or-nah Ran and the architect Nehemiah Goraly designed a promenade and a sculpture park. The “'Sabra' Flower Ascent” Park is a development, built in terraces along a steep slope, in the shape of a leaf of cactus, along which three symbolic cactus flowers can be found: the bud, the flower at its climax and the wilting flower.
The designers proposed to have the sculptures made of not locally found stones, featuring special colors and textures. Their intention was to soften the nature of the protected area, and to refresh and “revive” it through “Sabra sculptures” in different flowering stages. As Or-nah Ran expresses it: “Looking at the creation with open eyes, one can find hope in it; on condition that this look comes along with a will for change, growth and progress. The wilting flower will soon die; the matured flower will drop; life renewal is found in the bud… In Jerusalem, where it is hard to stand the moral, politic, physical, surrounding tensions, everything is more important than art. However, even while strolling along the city streets, art is the one that relieves from life dullness. The intensive building impetus, the vanishing green spots drove me, in my previous works, in creating “renewed nature”… In the "Sabra Flower Ascent", I designed a friendly environment to those who walk along the Rupin Bridge, to guests of the hotels around, to those who go for a stroll in the Beth Hakerem Park.”
This design proposition aroused interest and raised reactions – most of them positive, and a few reserves. Most visitors made note of the fresh artistic spirit of the design, combining sculpture in environmental design, in harmony with this particular place with the built background around it.
The architect Nahum Melzer, asked for his opinion about the proposal, wrote on March 31, 1996: “On this side of the slope, there is a kind of “empty space”, and the particular development, involving sculptural works, will make a bond between the built areas, through it, with the road and bridge compound. The intended “Sabra Flowers” stand along the slope; they soften the building that goes on around the road and the bridge, allowing a kind of welcome visual “pause”. The combination of softness of the shape with hard texture of the stone opens an interesting dialog between the sculptures and the environment. It looks to me that it is worth having Or-nah Ran’s sculptures and the development executed as a whole; in so doing, the neighborhood and the urban space will be given a significant contribution.”
This plan includes several other intended environmental developments along the road. Some design changes can still occur until the actual achievement.