Image © Elad Sarig, Courtesy of The Architecture Department, Bezalel academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem

At a vibrant intersection in downtown Jerusalem, The Architecture Department at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, in collaboration with the Israel Festival Jerusalem and EDEN—the Jerusalem development authority—created a temporary structure for the Israel Festival, which ran from the end of May to mid June of this year.

Located in Zion Square parallel to the tramway line, the pavilion creates a space to host art programs including lectures, concerts, dance performances, video screenings, and theater productions. The structure beautifully frames a dialogue between the urban routine and cultural experiences, giving users a new understanding of the Israel Festival, and of the potential of the spaces within their city.

Image © Yifat Zailer, Courtesy of The Architecture Department, Bezalel academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem

Image © Elad Sarig, Courtesy of The Architecture Department, Bezalel academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem

At 24 meters long, three meters wide, and four meters high, the structure spans between two boxes: the “toolshed,” which encapsulates festival needs, and “the garden,” which acts as an intimate shaded space in the bustling square, featuring benches and enclosed by a curtain. This curtain can further be drawn over the entirety of the pavilion, connecting its two ends and creating a larger event space.

Courtesy of The Architecture Department, Bezalel academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem

Courtesy of The Architecture Department, Bezalel academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem

The place—beautiful, inspiring and optimistic at every moment of the day—is a great success at meeting all the goals of this project, said Eyal Sher, Director of the Israel Festival. The main one being bringing the joy of culture to many people of diverse backgrounds, who would not otherwise have the means or the opportunity to experience it – at a unique most pleasant casual and accessible urban yet intimate setting. Along is a sense of community that we don’t experience often as Jerusalem citizens. It’s truly heartwarming.

Image © Yifat Zailer, Courtesy of The Architecture Department, Bezalel academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem

Image © Elad Sarig, Courtesy of The Architecture Department, Bezalel academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem

News via The Architecture Department, Bezalel academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem.

ArchDaily was introduced to this project thanks to the 2016 Vibe Israel Arch Tour. See more at #VibeArch.

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© OMA

OMA has unveiled its first residential tower for New York. Located at 121 East 22nd Street, the building sits at the intersection of two neighborhoods, with the busy Madison Square area to the North-West and the relative tranquility of Gramercy Park to the South. The building’s facade reflects this duality, with a striking “prismatic corner” of glass contrasting the rest of the building’s more conventional window layout. The corner element is designed to frame views, in some places directing users’ attention up towards the sky and in others along the busy streets below.

Filling an L-shaped site that faces 22nd Street on one side and the corner of 23rd Street and Lexington Avenue on the other, the building features ground-level retail units and a setback above its 12th floor to continue the roofline of its neighbors. “The design of the 133-unit residential block was driven by the duality of its context,” explained OMA’s New York Principle Shohei Shigematsu. “Punched windows echoing the façade of its pre-war neighbors seamlessly transition to contemporary, floor-to-ceiling glazed windows towards the corner, forming a gradient from historic to modern.”

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