Architectural design for the new campus of Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design

Japan's well-known architectural firm "SANAA" was selected to design the new campus of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, a public art university in Jerusalem, which was moving to a new location.

ーYoshitaka Tanase (Partner at SANAA )

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is a public design and art university with an extensive history established in 1906 in Jerusalem. In 2012, an international design competition was held at the Bezalel Academy to select a designer for their newly relocated campus, and our architectural design firm SANAA collaborated with local firm Nir-Kutz Architects won the honor to be involved in its design.

The former campus used to be located on Mt. Scopus, which is east of the Jerusalem suburbs. It stood four kilometers from the city center, so it was said to have been a conducive education environment yet inconvenient location-wise.

The new campus was selected to be built on the hill called the Russian Compound, which overlooks the Old Town of Jerusalem to the east and is located across the Old Town from Mr. Scopus. This location holds a special place in Jerusalem as it neighbors City Hall, the Russian Church, the courthouse, and the police station with the Underground Prisoner Museum to the east. Returning the campus to the city center is meant to be a tribute to the founding academy and a new beginning.

Building the new campus in the center of Jerusalem, which will hold over 3500 students and faculty daily, will have a great impact on the city. We wanted to make the most of the new campus for both the city and the school and want the campus to be a place where students will create new energy for the city and, as a result, would stimulate creativity at the academy.

Now, let me explain the new campus briefly. Our firm had a series of meetings with the University for the design. It was decided to build nine wings, one for each department at the academy. The wings stand parallel to each other and make slight differences in height between each wing. We wanted the floors to be as narrow and compact. Between wings created a long open space to connect them spatially. Stairs and elevators give vertical flow lines. We also created paths with slopes and stairs in the open spaces to partially connect each wings so that students can freely move around own way.

This way, each department can manage its own wing independently. Yet, they are connected spatially and visually. For example, while a student of one department focuses on their assignment, they are able to see what students in the next building are doing and get inspiration. In other cases, cross-department collaboration would be possible. We wanted to produce a place where "surplus" space would make creative connections beyond just the different departments.

The department buildings look as though they are Archipelago, a group of small islands, with each island having its own culture but still somehow cohesive with the other islands. Just as a group of islands creates rich fishing grounds by affecting ocean currents, the building with wings form an excellent atmosphere that flows out to the city and vice versa. It was with that in mind that we designed the building.

The impression we received on our first visit to the Mt. Scopus campus influenced our design greatly. We visited just before the end of a semester when students were everywhere preparing for their presentations. Their work was displayed throughout the campus without regard for which department it belonged to, giving the campus a feel of an art gallery and even a city. We wanted to create a similar atmosphere with our new buildings, but better and with a connection to the surrounding city.

Jerusalem Stone connects the town with the campus

The city of Jerusalem is built with Jerusalem Stone. This limestone, with its slightly pinkish-beige color, sits at the base of Jerusalem and has been used as a building material for thousands of years. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Wailing Wall use Jerusalem Stone. The tradition of building with Jerusalem Stone has carried over into modern times. The Law requires that most buildings' exterior walls must use Jerusalem Stone. As all buildings abide by this law, there is a sense of continuity in Jerusalem's streets, with both the old and new buildings constructed with the same materials. As an architectural designer, I found it interesting to see how a city could look so cohesive only because of the building material used, but with no regulations regarding the style or form of buildings within the city.

We designed the buildings aligned with the same rules. We used reinforced concrete on the floors and installed windows from floor to ceiling with a minimum of outer walls. We met over and over with city officials when applying for building permits. Luckily, we were granted permission with the conditions to use Jerusalem stones for the outer walls and special concrete with aggregate of Jerusalem stones for the structures of the buildings.

The purpose of our buildings is to spread the energy in them to the city and that of the town back to them. In a way, this concrete made them feel closer to the City. When I finally saw the first pillars of the buildings going up on the building site, I remember feeling touched that it could make our buildings part of the city.

We are currently in the process of finalizing the details of the campus. Furniture and equipment have been placed in the building while students and faculty have prepared to utilize parts of the campus. The site was previously full of construction workers, but now more and more students are being seen in the building, creating a different energetic atmosphere.
The entrance plaza is located behind the Russian Church and wraps around the Church. Walking around the Church leads to the plaza. Entering from the plaza, one can look out over the city of Jerusalem from the café with skip floors on the upper level or the main gallery on the lower floor. Walking along the long, narrow atrium staircase leads one through the cafe or gallery to the open-air terrace overlooking the Old Town.
This area is one of the places which best illustrates what we wanted to create on the campus: for space where the buildings and the city become one. We hope that visitors will get a sense of the campus co-existing with the surrounding city.

There are many cats around the Russian Church next door to the campus, most likely because someone must be feeding them. On one occasion, when checking on the construction site, I saw a black cat inside one of the buildings. The cat noticed me and disappeared quickly and elegantly. Of course, it would be troublesome if these cats found a home in the newly constructed buildings, but that was also the moment I truly felt the buildings were one with the city.

(translation: Hisako Miyamori)

<Project >

New Campus for the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design
Location: Jerusalem, Israel
Client: Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design
Architect: SANAA
Executive architect, design phase: Nir-Kutz Architects
Executive architect, construction phase: HQ Architects
Project management: Am-Gar, Poran-Shrem
General Contractor: Shikun & Binui Solel-Boneh

Yoshitaka Tanase

Architect, born in 1970 in Mie Japan
2013- Partner of SANAA,
2003- Establish Yoshitaka Tanase Architectural Office
1995- Joind Kazuyo Seima Associates and SANAA
Graduated from Kyoto Institute of Technology as B. Arch and M. Arch.