The first building for the Technion - a real cultural asset
This week, instead of continuing the trip in Hadar, I went up to the Kiryat Technion in Neve Shanan, following the news published about the intention to destroy the iconic building of the Faculty of Aeronautics.
This building was the first to be built in Kiryat Technion, in 1953-54, when the decision was made to move the institution from Hadar Carmel to a spacious campus that would allow it to develop.
A combination of modernism and brutalism
The building was designed by the architect Prof. Yochanan Ratner. It is designed in a style that combines modernism and brutalism, styles that prevailed in world architecture in the first half of the 20th century. At the heart of the building is a round foyer with a concrete mushroom in the center that has inspired many generations of architects educated at the Technion, myself among them.
The building, which stands out for its modesty and simplicity, is a cultural and historical asset, thanks to its architectural quality, thanks to the noble personality of the person who designed it and thanks to the many members of the public who visited it in the first years of the state. Due to all these the building was declared asBuilding preservation.
for future generations
Today the building suffers from serious subsidence problems. An extensive and urgent restoration operation is required to preserve this cultural asset, for future generations. Voices are being heard from different directions proposing to demolish the historic building and erect a "restored" building in its place. Experts in the field of conservation are united in their opinion that this operation was destined for failure, since it is known that Restoration is not preservation.
In conclusion, I will bring the words of architect Karkabi, former director of the conservation department of the Haifa municipality: "This is a treasure that belongs to the general public and a public protest should be launched in order to force all those concerned to change the decision".
I hope that next week I will return and take a leisurely stroll among the beautiful buildings in Hadar Carmel.
A cultural treasure must be preserved
Do not destroy!!! to preserve!!!
The Technion is an expert in destroying everything good and beautiful that was built on campus
D-class architects with ugly construction (just look at the two dormitories they have just built, the ugliest in Haifa)
It should not be surprising that this is a bankrupt institution that is only engaged in robbing money from the treasury for 400 senior salaries and huge pensions
travel the world at conferences. They are busy in the Chinese campus and in New York organizing many trips for them and the lecturers. In Haifa they will only destroy.
Not only was the designer of the building Professor Yohanan Ratner, it should be known that the Faculty of Architecture was housed in the building for quite a few years before its move to the Technion building in Hadar, many generations of the country's architects were educated there.
Only the preservation of this beautiful understanding and not the destruction, Ari Batchion has the best of the best who can find a patron for this situation.