JERICHO, Palestinian Territories: Near the ancient West Bank town of Jericho, Swiss architect Peter Zumthor is creating a masterpiece of his own in a bid to save the Middle East's biggest mosaic. Recruited by the Palestinian Authority and UNESCO, the 67-year-old has developed a unique shelter that should both protect the stunning mosaics inside Hisham's Palace and keep them accessible to tourists. The proposed “House of the Mosaics” was designed to shield the multi-colored, intricate pieces from the elements, while showcasing one of the richest archaelogical sites in the Palestinian territories. Zumthor, the 2009 winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, began working on the Hisham's Palace project in 2006. He refers to it as more of an “emotional reconstruction” than a traditional restoration. The West Bank city is believed to be some 10,000 years old and is considered one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. The ruins of Hisham's Place, built during the Ummayad empire, stand on 60 hectares in Khirbat Al-Mafjar, west of the Jordan Valley and 260 meters (850 feet) below sea level. The winter palace is representative of early Islamic architecture, with several residential floors, a courtyard with a portico, a mosque, a fountain and a steam room modeled on Roman baths. The palace is famed for its mosaics, including the incredible “Tree of Life,” which depicts the mythical tree with two deer grazing peacefully on one side of it, while a third deer is attacked by a lion on the other side.The open-air Great Bath Room boasts a massive mosaic that covers 850 square meters and is the best-preserved floor mosaic in the Middle East and the most well-known in the world. The proposed plan would consist of a lattice of Lebanese cedar beams resting on 16 pillars of reinforced concrete. Standing 18 meters (59 feet) tall, the structure would be covered with a white fabric to allow natural light to filter in. – Agence France
