New Campus for Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem City Center

The Towers of Bezalel - Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem

Our proposal envisages an ensemble of six buildings that together form a coherent campus situation which functions as a homogenous urban space, respectfully interacting with the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Russian Compound. It creates a complex form with a representative appearance that communicates visually with the historic centre of Old Jerusalem. At the same time the individual buildings provide, by their well proportionate volumes and sculptural façades, an atmosphere of intercommunication and creativity for the academy’s faculty, staff and students.
The arrangement of the six buildings relates to the classical idea of the campus as an “open space”. The areas between them function as public spaces, thus integrating the campus into Jerusalem’s city life, as does the long ramp at the Eastern edge which opens the terrace towards downtown Jerusalem. The garden in the Eastern part of the campus should be defined as the academy’s private property, providing a site for students’ work and relaxation.
In the centre of the campus the main building houses the main entrance and information desk, the academy administration and the library. It is surrounded by the five faculty buildings (from South to North: Fine Arts, Applied Arts with Ceramics, Glass, Jewellery and Fashion Design, Industrial Design, Architecture, and Media Arts). The vertical structure is identical for all five buildings. On piazza niveau (+- 0.00) all public spaces are arranged (e.g., gallery, auditorium and canteen). The first floor (+ 5.00) contains the teachers’ areas. On this level, the buildings on the North and South part of the campus are each interconnected, thus providing easy interdisciplinary exchange. Starting from second floor (+9.00), studios and working areas are located.
The Basement (-4.00) functions as the base of all six buildings. It comprises most of the common spaces, some of them with direct access to the garden. A broad skylit passageway serves as an interconnection between the six buildings.
The main building entrance will be open 24 hours a day and is equipped with the appropriate security apparatus. There are also side entrances for all five faculty buildings, designed so as to require only two additional security posts. The ancillary entrances will be closed at night, but it will be possible to exit them through secured one-way exits.
All buildings are characterised by varying façade materials. Different colours of Jerusalem stone indicate the buildings’ diverse functions and facilitate orientation for faculty, students, staff and visitors. Each building block is characterised by the stark contrast between the subtle and rhythmic grid of stone columns and the generous loggias which perforate all fronts of each building. Mostly two stories high and five by five meters wide, they form outdoor terraces on every level of the buildings, thus functioning as meeting points on these levels as well as vantage points in regards to the campus’ other buildings. The façades’ stone-column grids are based on a factor of 1.5 m, developing into a fade-in fade-out of wider and smaller window-sizes that add to an impression of movement and iridescence. Seen from inside the building, they appear like a row of French windows forming light screens for the rooms, generating convenient daylight situations for all offices and studios.
“The Towers of Bezalel” incorporate an urban concept of the campus as a dispersed, yet unified, space open to the sky, the nature and the surrounding city. The minimalist form of the volumes pays respect to the adjacent Cathedral and the urban environment, creating a distinguished and exposed site, a significant spot in Jerusalem’s cityscape. In their human scale and individual design, the distinct buildings offer a high potential of identification for the faculty, students and staff of the academy. The spacious outline of both the urban and the architectural concept will contribute, as we are convinced, to an atmosphere of interdisciplinary communication and individual creativity at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem.