Architecture in Israel
We've selected what we feel are the key examples of Israeli Architecture. We aim to include buildings that are either of top quality or interesting, or ideally both.
We cover completed buildings, new building designs, architectural exhibitions and architecture competitions across Israel. The focus is on contemporary Israeli buildings but information on traditional Israel buildings is also welcome.
We have 2 pages of Israel Architecture selections with links to many individual project pages.
Israeli Architecture : news + key projects (this page)
Israeli Buildings : A-Z
Israeli Building - Latest Designs
Tel Aviv ArchitecturalTours
Tel Aviv Architecture Walking Tours : building walks - launched May 2013
Jerusalem Architectural Tours
Jerusalem Architecture Walking Tours : building walks - launched May 2013
Major Israeli Building Designs - latest additions to this page, arranged chronologically:
Tel Aviv Architecture Photos
photograph © Adrian Welch
Tel Aviv Architecture Photos - 16 May 2013 : major buildings around the city centre
Porter School Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv University Campus, Israel
Design: Geotectura / Axelrod-Grobman Architects / Chen Architects
photograph © Adrian Welch
Porter School Tel Aviv - 16 May 2013
The design gives a synergic approach to the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. The environmental aspect presents an energy sufficient structure that is derived from the site conditions (wind, sun, acoustic) and allows research that simultaneously presents the available technologies to the public. The surrounding buildings can plug in to the available recycling and energy systems within the building. The social aspect is achieved via human interaction throughout the entire building allowing formal and informal meeting places between researchers and visitors. The economical aspect saves building area and maintenance cost.
Mamilla Hotel, central Jerusalem
Design: Safdie Architects
photo from Mamilla Hotel
Mamilla Hotel Jerusalem - 16 May 2013
A significant cultural, architectural and touristic evolution of the urban fabric of one of the world’s most iconic and timelessly beautiful cities happens this June with the opening of the first luxury lifestyle hotel in Jerusalem and Israel: Mamilla Hotel. Located in a remarkable position in the city centre with breath-taking views of the Old City walls, the Tower of David and Jaffa Gate, the Mamilla is a contemporary, world-class hotel that combines a distinctly international outlook with the unique cultural heritage of this most magnetic, frenetic, incredible city.
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, western Israel
Design: Preston Scott Cohen
photo © Amit Geron Courtesy Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art - new photos - 16 May 2013
An international city renowned for its vibrant young culture and tradition of modern architecture, and a museum known as the very heart of its nation’s thriving arts community, today opened the doors of a visionary new building that may alter the future of museum architecture and lift its country to new prominence in the world of contemporary art.
The Meier on Rothschild tower, Tel Aviv - construction progress
Design: Richard Meier & Partners Architects
photograph : Adrian Welch
Rothschild Tower Tel Aviv - 16 May 2013
This project is a pure, simple iconic residential, retail and office facility for the city of Tel Aviv. The 37-story tower for Berggruen Construction and Development will be located on Rothschild Boulevard and Allenby Street, one of Tel Aviv’s most distinguished addresses. The fundamental considerations that shape the tower scheme are the quality of light in the plan, views to the sea, and relationships with the existing fabric of Rothschild Boulevard. In the local neighborhood the intention is to integrate a new landmark building as an “anchor” in the heart of Tel Aviv, complementing its nearby modern predecessors in the Bauhaus style design of the historic “White City”.
Solar Decathlon Project, Haifa, north west Israel
Design: Team Israel
image from architects
Solar Decathlon Project Israel - 15 May 2013
Testing the thermal performance of various aspects of the design and the building envelope has helped fine tune the house to the desired level of performance that fits both the Israeli and Datong climates.
Charles Bronfman Auditorium
photograph © Adrian Welch
Concert Hall Building Tel Aviv - 14 May 2013
Major Tel Aviv building located on HaBima Square.
Bialik Square Buildings
photograph © Adrian Welch
Bialik Square Buildings - 14 May 2013
The Museum of the History of Tel Aviv-Yafo opened in 2009 in what was the old Tel Aviv Municipality building in Bialik Square. This is an elegant piece of city planning, humble, axial and successful as a place where people like to linger. It features a contemporary extension to the north.
Habima Square
photograph © Adrian Welch
Habima Square Buildings - 14 May 2013
HaBima Square (also known as The Orchestra Plaza) is a public space in the center of the city. It is home to a number of cultural institutions such as the Habima Theatre, the Fredric R. Mann Auditorium and the Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art.
Monument to the Negev Brigade, Negev Desert, southern Israel - review + photos
Design: Dani Karavan
photograph © Adrian Welch
Monument to the Negev Brigade - 14 May 2013
Yad Va'Shem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem - new photos
Design: Safdie Architects
photograph © Adrian Welch
Yad Va'Shem Holocaust Museum - 13 May 2013
The rebuilding of the Yad Va'Shem Holocaust Museum includes a new visitors’ center (Mevoah), a new history museum replacing the existing museum constructed in 1953, a Hall of Names, a synagogue, galleries for Holocaust art, an exhibitions pavilion and a learning and visual center. In addition, new underground parking and facilities for tour buses are located adjacent to a new entrance piazza. The overall program quadruples the permanent exhibition space.
Beit Halochem, Be'er Sheva, Negev Desert, southern Israel - new images + review
Kimmel Eshkolot Architects
photograph © Adrian Welch
Beit Halochem - 13 May 2013
The concept of the Israeli Veterans' building, explained to me by the architect, was five 'rocks' in the desert with an overarching roof. Each 'rock' is a wing of the building and the intervening spaces are cloaked with a timber-lined soffit. Evaluating the design was hindered by a huge amount of clutter but in general the building seems to work though I found reading the layout from the entry and the foyer slightly difficult, the 'rocks' metaphor doesn't quite work for me.
Be'er Sheva Buildings, southern Israel - architecture review by e-architect editor Adrian Welch
photograph © Adrian Welch
Be'er Sheva Buildings - 13 May 2013
Photos + information on low-rise housing, a megastructure and a university campus all located in the arid landscape of the Negev Desert.
Design Museum Holon, Tel Aviv - review + photos by e-architect editor Adrian Welch
Design: Ron Arad
image © DMH
Design Museum Holon - 13 May 2013
The building shows exhibitions about Israeli design, and on our visit was showing bathing suits and related designs. The structure is located on the edge of the traditional city centre, in a cultural quarter which is yet to complete. The building appears as an organic form, but within it is essentially formed by a large upper and a small lower gallery, both rectilinear. As a group we discussed the anomaly of billowing coloured swirls outside and the restrained white spaces within. The spaces might allow curatorial flexibility but the fact that their perimeter wasn't reflected externally concerned us architect visitors as we have all been taught that form should be 'honest' and reflect the form of the space held within.
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Design: various architects
photo : Cecilia Koren
Israel Museum - 13 May 2013
The Israel Museum opened in 1965, in a Modernist complex nestled on the Judean Hills near The Knesset - the national parliament building - and the Hebrew University. Since that time, it has become the most eminent cultural institution in the region and one of the leading art and archaeology museums in the world, with collections growing exponentially over the past four decades. Now 45 years later, the museum has reopened after a $100 million expansion and renovation.
Yad Le’Banim buildings, Ramat Yishay - Architecture Competition entry
Design: Talmon Biran Architecture Studio
picture from architects
Israel Architecture Competition entry - 23 Nov 2012
Yad Le’Banim buildings are multi-disciplinary cultural centers that offer cultural, social, and artistic activities for the local community in memory of fallen soldiers of Israel Defense Forces and Security Forces. The location of the proposed Yad Le’Banim building within an existing grove at the local council of Ramat Yishay provides a unique opportunity to integrate landscape with the architectural design.
University Senate Center Beer-Sheva, southern Israel
Chyutin Architects
photograph : Ardon Bar Hama
University Senate Center Beer-Sheva - 26 Apr 2012
The Senate Center complex at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev serves as the university’s administrative center. It contains an office building, the Senate Hall, and an exhibition space. The office building, which faces the campus’s main entrance plaza, on the main lengthwise pedestrian axis, is shaped like a monolithic cube with sandstone cladding, and encloses a circular inner courtyard. The main entrance to the plaza and to the complex is designed like a cleft carved into the rock of a canyon.
B&B Italia Showroom, Tel Aviv, western Israel
Architects: Pitsou Kedem
picture : Amit Geron
B&B Italia Showroom Israel - 16 Feb 2012
The designer breathed new life into an abandoned and dilapidated building in the Tel Aviv harbor area, and created, around one of the finest furniture collections in the world of design, a space that is both powerful and yet restrained at one and the same time. The 11 meter high structure with a unique façade consisting of a line of pillars was used by the designer as the base for the entire outer shell. The architect chose to leave in place only the pillars and beams and to remove everything else.
Israeli Building - Recent Designs
Jerusalem District Courthouse, central Israel
Design: Chyutin Architects
picture from architects
Jerusalem Courthouse - 8 Dec 2011
The courthouse in Jerusalem is located on a newly designed main public square in the city center of Jerusalem. The building houses all the judiciary levels except the Supreme Court, and contains 113 courtrooms and 135 judges’ chambers. The design of the court building connects and bridges among the host of diverse design languages of the buildings around it while creating a distinctive language of its own.
The Polonsky Academy, eastern Israel
Design: Chyutin Architects
render : Chyutin Architects
The Polonsky Academy - 13 Sep 2011
The Polonsky Academy of Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences is situated on the cliff facing south towards the Jerusalem Theater.
Israel Architecture
Major Israeli Architecture Developments, alphabetical:
Beit Halochem Rehabilitation Center
Beer Sheva, southern Israel
Kimmel Eshkolot Architects, Israel
image from architect
Israel Veterans' Home
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Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design
New Campus, Jerusalem
SANAA with Nir Kutz Architects
image from BAAD
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design
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Haifa University Student Center Building, north Israel
Chyutin Architects
photograph : Amit Giron
Haifa University Student Center
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The Museum of Tolerance
Jerusalem
Chyutin Architects
image from architects
The Museum of Tolerance
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Peace Peres House, Jaffa, central Israel
Massimiliano & Doriana Fuksas Architects
image : Archivio Fuksas
Peace Peres House Jaffa
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Rosso Restaurant, Ramat Ishay
SO Architecture
photograph : Asaf Oren
Rosso restaurant Israel
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Umm el-Fahem Museum Contemporary Art
SO Architecture
image from architects
Umm el-Fahem Museum Building |
Yehiam Memorial, Kibbutz Yechiam
SO Architecture
photo : Asaf Oren, SO Architecture
Yehiam Memorial, north of Israel |
More Israel Architecture online soon
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