The beehive structure in Haifa has always intrigued me...
One of the buildings that has always fascinated me the most in Haifa is the beehive building located on the corner of Horev and Janusz Korcek streets. To my delight, one of the residents of the building invited me to tour the building, the apartment, and also told me about the complicated history of its establishment.
A building for the city's rich
In the lot where the building is located, the villa of Ephraim Ilin, who was one of the pioneers of the automobile industry in Israel, was located. In 1994, the developer Israel Varansky and Ilin signed a combination deal, in which the former asked to erect a building for the wealthy of Haifa, when the architect chosen for the project was Ram Karmi. The lot on which the building is located is about 6 dunams in size, in a building 47 apartments on five floors, along with another two floors of underground parking. The apartments range from 3-7 rooms (a seven-room apartment is a union of two apartments) and their size ranges from 57 to 188 square meters.
Rainbow and sky
The entrance to the building (for pedestrians) is through an arched gate facing the intersection of Korchak and Horev streets. After the entrance hall, you reach the inner courtyard of the building, which has two tiered floors, with the upper one open to the sky.
In the inner courtyard are located the two elevators of the building as well as the staircases. This is the heart of the building and also the most special place in it. All the apartments face the inner courtyard and access to them is only through it. The purpose of the yard was to create a meeting place for the neighbors and it is still a place for meetings, sports or just wandering around today. I didn't visit here during the Corona closures, but I can guess that the residents of the building enjoyed the fact that they have a public space at the entrance of the house. The beauty of this yard is that it is full of interest and views, architectural details, vantage points and is lit by natural light.
public and private
In a building with so much "public" one of the biggest challenges is to also create a private feeling. Karmi creates this feeling through a gradual transition from the "public" peak, which is in the inner courtyard, to the apartments themselves, which are the "private" peak. He produces this through separate flights of stairs in different areas of the building, corridors for a group of apartments, walkways leading to only two apartments, and in two cases there is a private path leading to only one apartment. The entrances to the apartments are also sunk from the front to the corridor, thus creating a greater sense of privacy at the entrance to the house.
Rich in details
One of the parameters by which a quality building is measured is how much richness there is in the building's details and in the case of the beehive, it is a very rich building. The most interesting details I found were in the central staircases, where a central steel column was built that holds smaller steel rods, on which the treads rest. This creates airy and very light stairs that do not block the view of the central courtyard. In addition, the casing of the stairs is made of cables that produce a kind of "cage" for the stairs and turn them into a real sculptural element. Originally there was supposed to be a glass casing for the stairs, but cost considerations led to the cancellation of the idea.
The late architect Ram Karmi, winner of the Israel Prize
It is impossible not to talk about this building without talking about its architect, the late Ram Carmi, winner of the Israel Prize for Architecture. Carmi was born in 1931 to one of the fathers of Israeli architecture, Dov Carmi, and is the brother of the respected architect Ada Carmi-Melamed, who is still active today .
You are probably familiar with Karmi's buildings: from the Supreme Court in Jerusalem (together with his sister), through the new Central Station in Tel Aviv, to the Negev Center in Be'er Sheva (also here in Haifa, he planned an extension to the building research station at the Technion and proposed a master plan for the institution in the sixties of the last century which did not come to fruition).
Aesthetics and genius
Over the years, Karmi's buildings have received great appreciation on the one hand and, on the other hand, considerable criticism. There is no doubt that Kerami was one of the interesting architects who worked here. You can argue about his aesthetics, but you can't argue about his genius.
The beehive building is a masterpiece in the city. We are used to talking about masterpiece buildings in the historical context for the most part, but I don't think we should wait a few more decades to brag and say how unique it is, we can say that already and in my opinion it can and should be declared a building for preservation.
• Thanks to Abraham Tzur for the assistance and information about the building.
One of the most beautiful and fascinating buildings in Israel. The kind of buildings that those who buy will enjoy. Understand, the building was not profitable for the contractor because of its high cost (which the high price the contractor demanded at the time was also not enough). What it means? This means that the tenants received a lot - a lot. But it's nice to see those who respond and live in card towers.
I was in the building as part of the "Houses from the Inside" tour - simply stunning. There is no other word to say about this place. A living experience that is completely different from the urban apartment buildings with the narrow lobbies and narrow hallways that the contractor tried to get the most out of, but rather the space and atmosphere of a private house within a shared house. Without a doubt, Carmi is a great architect. Unfortunately, the contractor paid the price for his pretension to build the best house and the project, which during marketing was priced very expensively, did not generate profits.
Interesting thanks?
We lived there for a while. There is no view from most of the apartments. A lot of apartments for rent, therefore the turnover. The House Committee controls the atmosphere of a military camp. unpleasant.
I don't know when you lived, but nowadays most of the apartments for rent have been sold (there was a time when there were many apartments for rent when the apartments were inherited to the heirs...). As for the House Committee, it was replaced by a House Committee that on the one hand also controls what is happening, but on the other hand these are very pleasant people
Many thanks to architect Zilka for the beautiful article. Looking forward to the full article on the street corner blog.
In my opinion, the architect here designed an unsuccessful building in relation to his successful public buildings. Even great artists have downfalls sometimes
The inner courtyard is beautiful and creates a special atmosphere, at least in the pictures. Everything else looks crowded, claustrophobic and the design looks cheap and neglected. It's a shame that there are no pictures of the interior of the apartments and other parts of the building.
Go visit the building. Claustrophobic and crowded is the last thing that can be said about this building. It is huge, and gives a feeling of abundance
There is no doubt that the building is an exception for the better from an architectural point of view, at the same time I did not understand the opinion of the respected architect when he presented precisely the red doors and windows which are a blatant example of rudeness and bad taste, was this what Ram Karmi meant? If you look at the original doors, you see wood, you see a light and uniform color, why didn't he address this professionally? In my opinion, architect Zilka did not completely agree with architect Karmi's opinion, even in relation to the public areas, they were not designed for sports, not even for playing with dogs or children. And it's a shame that the message and vision of a carpentry architect was not preserved
Dr. Ben Maayan, there is nothing to argue about taste and smell. As for the public areas, if they are not intended for the use of the tenants (sports, games with children, etc.), then what exactly are they intended for? A public space is a public space, and the public has the right to do what they want in it (the public of apartment owners). One wants to read a book, the second wants to play sports and the third wants to play with children.
To Mr. Yanon
You should read the bylaws carefully, because the bylaws of this condominium explicitly state that "the common property of the building in the public areas of the building are not intended to be used as a place for children to play, and the owners of the apartments must prohibit their children from playing in them and make sure that children do not play in them in any way."
"Pets should not be allowed to walk or be in public areas without being led on a leash by their owners"
The intention is not to open a kindergarten there. But if a family plays in the public area there is no problem.
It seems that today everyone gets a "Doctor" degree... and do you know what Ram Carmi's vision was??
Well, it's time to sort out the comments.
I grew up in the building and my parents were among the first buyers of the apartments in the building.
I don't get into an argument about whether it is beautiful or not - in my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in Israel. What's more, it bothers me a bit that people who have probably never been in the building and know nothing and nothing write about it.
The construction - as written in one of the responses, the building was stalled for quite some time by the municipality and the authorities and the rumor was that this was the municipality's revenge on the contractor's wife who was an architect and criticized the municipality a lot. At the end of the day, the petition was approved, but some of the buyers, such as the Ofer brothers, canceled the apartments.
As a result of the delay, the contractor ran into financial difficulties, which eventually caused Bank Leumi to step in and complete the construction. If today this building is stunning, then it was supposed to be much more beautiful. All the walls of the building were supposed to be covered with stone (in practice, due to cost considerations, some of the walls of the building are painted and not coated), the iron railings were supposed to be glass railings and many more "cuts" aimed at cost savings. The bottom line is this, even after the savings, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in Israel, and the fact is that my parents still live there today.
Another rumor that was circulating is about the building being Flakel - the building is not built with the Flakel method and at the time my parents were given a report by external engineers that was also approved by the municipality which proved that the building is not Flakel. What's more, they used tin element ceilings to create spaces between the ribs (yes, in this building they built a ribbed ceiling which is a ceiling with perfect acoustic insulation, unlike in the buildings of some of the writers where they hear the neighbors upstairs when they get up to go to the bathroom).
It's about the splendor of the creation with an incredible PR, and it's a shame. My parents enjoy every day there.
I read another comment about the change of tenants - I am not clear what the author of the comment wants to say. But people die and the apartments are sold...
As for the size of the apartments - a standard apartment there is 100 square meters for four rooms. Unlike the apartments of some of the respondents here, the apartments designed by Karmi are almost without corridors and dead spaces, which results in maximum utilization of spaces. It's a shame they didn't upload a drawing of an apartment here so people can understand what it's about.
Bottom line - we won't argue about taste and smell, but this is an amazing project, which even after considering the budget that was put into it and the cuts, is one of the most beautiful houses in Israel.
Mr. Yanon. You have a problem with reading comprehension
It is interesting to know that one of the famous real estate appraisers from Haifa (Holyland...) bought an apartment in this building for his parents. It turns out that laymen are not necessarily wrong.
I visited the building for the purpose of buying an apartment, the public areas are full of filth and dog excrement in several places, the apartments are very small and weird, you have to be a freak to live there.
Flats are small but the public areas are beautiful.
Actually in the pictures it seems that the building is very clean - so you probably haven't been in the same place...
The house committee makes sure that the building is properly cleaned and the high-quality neighbors make sure as well.
Nightmare street, severe parking shortage
But the tenants have a parking lot
Want to correct you, in the building each apartment has a parking space or two. All of which are sources.
Architects: enough for human experiments.
including the one in the municipality. Enough for human experiments with pigs.
Ugly, severe noise nuisances from an internal echo, windows with dark rooms facing the corridors, and horrible noise from the intersection with Ramat Begin and Givat Downs. In short, a failed project that should not intrigue anyone, just a big sign "Please don't build like this again, delusional architects.. without human experiments. You could have built a great tower there with 100 apartments with a stunning view from each one and instead we got this monster. This is the fate of Haifa Instead of building up-to-date, we got housing estates and housing estates of all kinds full of hazards and planning mistakes.
And another fel-kel, which is the record of records.
The construction itself is beautiful. It bothers me that there are room windows facing the inner courtyard. The entrance to the complex is impressive. Any construction is better than skyscrapers that block light. Overcrowded with people that create traffic jams.
How much nonsense in one message - I don't even know where to start responding. You see that you have never been in the building and it is doubtful that you will be able to be in it.
You sound very disgruntled, want to correct you, it's a shame there aren't more constructions like this
About 16 years ago, several apartments were put up for sale for nothing. I was worried that it was a slight fluke
Built "Palkal" in addition to all the troubles.
The building was slightly suspicious but after an inspection it was clarified that it was not. Too bad you're not accurate.
There was a suspicion of building a light pole, but this is not the case. Your words are accurate
The building was built on two plots. One of Ilin's father and the other of Ilin's son. Consolidation of plots is required for continuous construction. The municipality of Haifa refused to approve, as alleged revenge for the public action of the wife of the contractor Varansky.
The contractor started building two wings, and intended to complete an intermediate wing later. The subcontractor got the heights wrong. The expensive repair required and impossible pressure from Bank Leumi eventually led to the collapse of the contractor, his departure from the country and his later death. The bank completed the project at a lower level than the contractor intended. The result accordingly.
Want to correct you on your mistake, the building is not crowded, there are large spaces, each neighbor has his privacy. I don't think you'll see ads with for sale signs here. From time to time, yes, people move house, pass away as usual
For many years Ilin was looking for a contractor to build on the lot and could not find one since he demanded to have 16 apartments in the project and therefore made it unprofitable. Finally, a contractor was found who also went bankrupt. Following Ilin's demands, they had to add apartments, which turned the project into a nightmare. The turnover there today is high and anyone who passes by in Horev sees the ads for sale displayed on the building.
I also see the sign for sale on one apartment on the first floor, but I understand from a couple of friends who were interested that this is an apartment on the first floor, in the most unfortunate location of the building (right above the Horev Korchak traffic light) for which the owners demanded the amount of a penthouse in a parallel building. Regarding turnover - there is a core of first-time buyers who live there happily (so according to a friend who knows one of them) and bearing in mind that the building was not built as a price for your use but for a specific population, which by its very nature is older, there is turnover. Some leave for sheltered housing and some die
Very impressive and intriguing.
The public areas are certainly significant areas.
I would love to visit and be impressed
Thanks for the article
For some reason you did not mention the tenants' hardships in regards to the conduct of the late contractor regarding the registration in the tabu as a result of the procedures taken against him by Bank Leumi.