The Wonder Cabinet is a multi-purpose, non-profit exhibition and production space overlooking the Al-Karkafeh Valley in Bethlehem. Structured around three programmes - Research and Production, Education and Community and the Public Programme - it aims to provide workspaces for Palestinian artists and engineers, designers and producers alike and to bring to life a regional hub for creativity and artisanal learning. In line with this mission, local artisans were engaged in the steel works and interior design of the building, including the lighting fixtures. Visitors entering the three-storey concrete building from street level will find a number of offices, a multi-purpose space, an object store and a café, structured by glass partitions and doors that allow visual connections between the different functions of the design. Visitors’ vistas are opened to the valley, while at the same time being guided to the underground floors through a cross-sectional void that connects all levels. While the first underground floor hosts artists’ workstations, a restaurant and a kitchen, the basement floor features an open production and performance area next to a sound studio and social meeting spaces.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture