The entrance courtyard of the Youth Wing for Art Education at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem is a main gathering place for visitors- adults, children and groups- within its modern concrete- and-stone architectural surroundings. The project – a renewal of the courtyard – combines a program open to interpretation by its users with a clearly defined context. The existing pine tree is the focus of the project, the physical anchor of the design concept. As a tribute to the childhood collective memory of a tree house, a small roofed structure where children can hide and over look at, is positioned high up the tilted trunk, raised above the meticulous surroundings of the museum.
The structural technique- 2 cm Ipea boards fixed to a light steel skeleton – creates a range of transparencies from top to bottom. While gradually transforms towards the ground, the element’s surface becomes a playground; sitting elements framing a topography covered with a soft EPDM rubber surface. All this carefully hides the underground infrastructure configuration as well as a widespread root system. At night the house is the only element illuminated, and emerges floating above the courtyard’s entrance.
Info © Ifat Finkelman and Deborah Warschawski
Photography © Amit Geron
