Major projects directed by Israel's government for the storage, analyzing, and transmission of data cause shifts in political power structures in the Middle East region. Taking these infrastructures as an example, this book reflects on geopolitical processes and the dynamics between architecture, political power, and surveillance.

Cloud-to-ground is the scientific term for lightning that strikes directly into the ground. The title of this book, published in conjunction with the Israeli pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, is derived from this. It investigates the shifts in political power structure that result from the wide-spread use of cloud technology: the storage, processing and analysis of inconceivable amounts of data in computer clouds. The focus is on major infrastructure projects currently underway in Israel and the Middle East region. These include Nimbus, a major cloud project pursued by the Israeli government for which Google and Amazon are building new powerful data centers, or the Blue Raman fiber-optic cable across the Negev Desert, also laid by Google, which will bypass Egypt on its way from India to Europe and at the same time revive the ancient trade routes that passed through this country.

Cloud-to-ground also documents the decommissioning and demolition of countless telephone exchanges in Israel's cities that have become obsolete. It thus brings to attention the physical nature of these largely ignored black box structures and connects them to the history of the Middle East and recent developments in global communication technology. Essays by prominent Israeli scholars are complemented by numerous photographs, sketches, and archival documents, as well as a newly compiled index of 140 telephone exchanges in Israel.

• Analyzes major infrastructure projects for the storage, processing and analysis of data and for global data transfer and how they affect politics in Israel and the Middle East region
• Shows how architecture, information technology, and power structures intersect in these processes
• Features previously unpublished photographs and archival documents alongside new essays by prominent Israeli scholars and researchers
• The official publication of the Israeli Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale (May 20 to November 26, 2023)

Autorentext

Oren Eldar is an architect, scholar, and lecturer at the Negev School of Architecture in Be'er Sheva.

Edith Kofsky is an architect, artist, and lecturer in the Architecture Department at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem and at the Negev School of Architecture in Be'er Sheva.

Hadas Maor is a contemporary art curator and a lecturer in the MFA program at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem.

Klappentext

"Cloud-to-ground" is the scientific term for lightning that strikes directly into the ground. The title of this book, published in conjunction with the Israeli pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, is derived from this. It investigates the shifts in political power structure that result from the wide-spread use of cloud technology: the storage, processing and analysis of inconceivable amounts of data in computer "clouds". The focus is on major infrastructure projects currently underway in Israel and the Middle East region. These include Nimbus, a major cloud project pursued by the Israeli government for which Google and Amazon are building new powerful data centers, or the Blue Raman fiber-optic cable across the Negev Desert, also laid by Google, which will bypass Egypt on its way from India to Europe and at the same time revive the ancient trade routes that passed through this country.

Cloud-to-ground also documents the decommissioning and demolition of countless telephone exchanges in Israel's cities that have become obsolete. It thus brings to attention the physical nature of these largely ignored "black box" structures and connects them to the history of the Middle East and recent developments in global communication technology. Essays by prominent Israeli scholars are complemented by numerous photographs, sketches, and archival documents, as well as a newly compiled index of 140 telephone exchanges in Israel.