A story about a building – Haifa Mall: The building, which belongs to the Azrieli Group, is located in the southern entrances of the city, at 4 Flieman Street, near Freud Road leading to Carmel, the Carmel Tunnels and Highway 4, and a short walk from Sammy Ofer Stadium.
Brief history
The mall was established between 1995 and 1997 at the initiative of several business entities: Dankner Investments, businessmen Shimon Pritzker and Yaakov Hai, and the Kamor company. The inauguration of the building was held in 1998. In 2001, a permit was received to build an office tower on the roof of the mall, on the western side, but it was not built.
In January 2010, the mall was purchased by the Azrieli Group and has since been called the "Azrieli Haifa Mall." Although in October 2007, the mall's management announced that the stores would also be open on Saturdays and holidays, this is not the case today.
Mall structure
The building was built according to the plans of Tel Aviv architect Avraham Yasky and his office. The mall includes 2 levels of commerce and approximately 1500 parking spaces, some of which are covered by the upper level of the eastern wing and some as uncovered parking spaces. The north and south facades are covered with special, wave-like aluminum elements, which, even after about 30 years, stand up well to the high humidity near the seashore. The west facade, facing the sea, is designed as a rounded curtain wall, with the catering area located behind it, on the top floor. On the north side of the mall, adjacent to Fliman Street, there is a gas station.
The mall's area is approximately 30,000 square meters and includes dozens of diverse stores and businesses: clothing and footwear, bookstores, electronics and computers, cafes and restaurants, fast food, supermarkets, and more. On the roof of the eastern wing is a go-karting complex for children. In the past, the mall also had movie theaters, but they closed over the years. Today, the Haifa branch of the "Zappa" club chain operates in a dedicated building, which was erected in recent years next to the main building.
At the northern entrance plaza to the mall, the group sculpture "David Azrieli's Zionist Journey" was installed, which was moved here in 2015 from the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv.
Architect Avraham Yasky (1927-2014)
Yaski was born in Chisinau (then Romania), now in the Republic of Moldova. In 1935, he immigrated to Israel with his family and settled in Tel Aviv. Yaski began studying architecture at the Technion, but interrupted his studies due to his military service in the War of Independence. He returned to study at the Technion after the war and graduated in 1951. After working for several well-known architectural firms of the time, he founded his own independent firm. In 1965, architects Yaakov Gil and Yossi Sivan joined him. Later, in 1990, his son, Dr. Yaakov Yaski, also joined the firm.
A. Yaski was an associate professor in the Faculty of Architecture at the Technion and a full professor at the School of Architecture at Tel Aviv University. He designed many buildings throughout Israel, especially towers, most of them in collaboration with architects Yaakov Gil and Yossi Sivan.
Besides the "Azrieli Haifa Mall", the selected projects designed by Yasky include: the Institute of Metallurgy in Kiryat Ha-Technion, the IBM House on King Saul Boulevard in Tel Aviv, the Opera Towers in Tel Aviv, the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv (principal design by Ader Eli Attiya), and the YOO Towers in Tel Aviv (in collaboration with designer Philippe Starck).
A. Yaski won many awards for his work: the Rokach Prize (1957, 1976), the Rechter Prize (1970), the Kaplan Prize (1975) and the Israel Prize for Architecture in 1982.
David Azrieli, businessman and philanthropist.
David Azrieli (1922-2014) was born in Poland. His parents perished in the Holocaust, but he managed to survive and arrived in Israel with the Anders Army in 1942, via Uzbekistan and Iran. He began studying architecture at the Technion but discontinued his studies due to the War of Independence. In 1954, he moved to Montreal, Canada, where he began a successful business career in real estate. In 1982, he founded the "Azrieli Group" which built the "Ayalon Mall" in Ramat Gan. In the 90s, he initiated and built the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv. Later, he returned and completed his architecture studies in Canada.
Alongside his businesses, which sometimes drew criticism, Azrieli conducted extensive philanthropic activity, within the framework of which he contributed to a number of educational projects in Canada, the US and Israel. In 2013, he donated 40 million NIS to establish a new campus for the "Jerusalem Academic College of Engineering", which has since borne his name. In 2014, he donated to the Technion branch in the "Sarona" complex in Tel Aviv, which has since borne the name "Technion Campus in Sarona named after Azrieli". He also donated to the Department of Architecture at Tel Aviv University, which is also named after him. The Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Technion also received a donation from him, and the faculty library bears D. Azrieli's name.
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I will add to the article that before the mall was built, there was a helicopter landing strip on the site (apparently for Carmel Hospital) and on Shabbat the strip was used for flying planes.
We, the residents of Neve Sha'anan, wish to operate the movie theater, "Cinema Amami," which faithfully served those who came to watch. With the cozy cafe. Whoever operated the place was pleasant, created a very good atmosphere.
It's part of the landscape of our neighborhood. And much more pleasant than the movie theaters around. The intimacy of home. Please minimize it for us. Thank you, Tamar Yavkovsky High School 9. 0522250437
Thank you for your response, I suggest that Neve Sha'anan demand that the municipality reactivate "Ammi" - maybe that will help...good luck!
To the best of my knowledge, the mall was originally designed as a hotel for Technion guests.. and all this by the Oren office, which later continued its work.. a bit of piquantness.. and more… The Carmel Tunnels were not designed with such a close exit and there were murmurs as to whether this was a lack of coordination - moving them there or beyond. I even interviewed the architect about it and she believes that there is interest in this transformation.. and above all, it is imperative to maintain a proper connection to the Nahal HaGiborim and also to plan for it from the drainage but delicate perspective.. A plan for a water barrier that did not take into account the desired recession upstream was also rolled into blood..
Thanks for your response, but it seems you are referring to the Grand Canyon and not the Haifa Mall… Anyway, interesting information… Have a good week!