Bezalel Academy of Art and Design

At the client's request, the architects in this project were replaced by Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA, from Tokyo, in cooperation with the Israeli firm, Nir Kutz Architects

The building, covering an area of 45,000 sqm + 10,000 sqm underground parking, is designed in the center of Jerusalem. It will host classrooms, studios, offices, an auditorium, an operational area various workshops, and an underground parking lot, addressing Bezalel’s need for breaking the traditional separation of the academy’s eight departments and allowing for a more active social and cultural involvement in the city’s life.

The structure is composed of 9 concrete cores and over 100 columns, spread out asymmetrically with spans of 9 meters and slab cantilevers of 4.5 meters, giving the structure its very unique look.

The cores are built from reinforced concrete, while the building is enclosed by a steel and glass curtain wall.

The retaining walls are varied and some have cantilevers up to 7 meters.

Our office completed the construction design for the full original tender.

Upon completion of the excavation phase, it was agreed that another engineering team will supervise the construction and be responsible for it.