The School of Design at the University of Haifa is a school created following the merger of the Academic Center for Design and Education (WIZO Haifa) and the University of Haifa. Until the merger, the Academic Center served as an academic college for training designers, which integrated the profession of education. The School of Design is located at 21 HaGanim Street, on the campus in the German Colony in Haifa.
WIZO
WIZO is an international Zionist women's organization. The name comes from the acronym of the English name Women's International Zionist Organization or WIZO. The organization was founded in 1920 by a group of Jewish women in Manchester, Britain, among whom was Vera Weizmann, a physician and wife of the country's first president, Chaim Weizmann.
The organization's goal was to unite Zionist women in cooperation for the realization of the Zionist idea. The intention was that the organization's members would contribute to and train women in Palestine for activities in the fields of education, home economics, health, welfare, and childcare.
In recognition of his many years of activity and the organization's achievements, he was awarded the 2008 Israel Prize in the field of "Lifetime Achievement" for a special contribution to society and the country.
A brief history of WIZO College
The Neri Blumenfeld WIZO Academic Center for Design in Haifa was established in 1971 as part of the vocational high school for girls that was established by WIZON in 1939. Until its relocation to its home in the German Colony, the two institutions shared the same building that was built in the 50s on Hanna Senesh Street.
In 2002, the institution moved to a new location, in the German Colony, in a building that was constructed as an expansion of an old building.
In 2016, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the WIZO Academic Center and the University of Haifa, according to which the college will become an academic unit of the university.
In June 2022, the Council for Higher Education approved the merger in two stages: in the first stage, WIZO will integrate as a school of study of the university, and in the second stage, it will become a faculty of study and art alongside the other faculties of the University of Haifa. Today, its full name is "The Neri Blumenfeld School of Study of the University of Haifa and the Foundation of WIZO World."
Building description
The new WIZO building was built on a plot of land owned by the Haifa Municipality that previously housed the Yuval Music Center and the Frank Templar family's home. The municipality handed the building over to WIZO as part of its policy of restoring and revitalizing the German colony.
The building was constructed after an invited competition was held among members of the college's architecture teaching staff, in which the architects won. Yoram Popper וEli Hirsch.
There was a 3-story building with an internal courtyard (patio) on the site. According to the new plan, the existing building was preserved but a floor and an attic with a tiled roof were added - as required by the municipality to adapt it to the construction of the German colony. In addition, a wing of a shelter was added and above it 2 levels for a library and a gallery of the photography department.
The east and west facing facades of the building were designed as climatic facades, featuring wooden louvers in steel frames for shading. The patio was also retained, but instead of being open to the sky, it was transformed into a central space covered by skylights.
At the same time, the municipality (through the Economic Society) designed and built a square connecting the college building to Ben Gurion Boulevard. The square was designed by the Landscape Architects Office. Greenstein-Har Gil Who also won the competition to design the colony's main street, Ben Gurion Boulevard.
The planners
architect Eli Hirsch, born in 1955 in Tel Aviv. A. Hirsch holds a first degree in civil engineering and a first degree (with honors) from the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Technion.
Between 1992 and 1995, A. Hirsch served as the city architect of Holon. Since 1989, he has been a senior lecturer on the teaching staff of the WIZO Academic Center, and in parallel with this activity, he engages in architectural planning in a variety of fields, in his independent office (since 1988), in which his wife is also a partner.
architect Yoram Popper, A. Hirsch's partner in planning the building of the WIZO Academic Center, was born in 1958 in Tel Aviv. He graduated from Blich High School in Ramat Gan. He studied architecture at the Technion and holds a bachelor's degree in architecture from the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning.
J. Popper served as the architect of the "Society to Open Ancient Acre" and in this framework he was involved in restoration and conservation of a variety of projects. Since 1993 he has served as a senior lecturer and project supervisor at the Academic Center for Tourism and Education, WIZO. At the same time, he works as an independent architect in a variety of fields such as: tourism, commerce and industry, education, health, housing, etc.
The sad letter
The WIZO Academic Center building received the The sad letter For 2007 in the category of educational buildings.
The "Sad Letter" is awarded by the Association of Architects and the Association of Interior Designers. The award-givers cited, among other things, the uniqueness of the building, its integration into the historical fabric of the German colony, the use of wood and steel to create climatic facades, and the fact that the building as a whole is suitable for its purpose as a school of architecture and art.
Thanks
My thanks are hereby extended to architects Gil Kromkoff, Yoram Popper, and Eli Hirsch for providing significant information that helped prepare the article.
Dear readers,
The articles in this section are based on open information published in sources such as Wikipedia and other websites and may include various historical inaccuracies arising from the aforementioned sources.
As the Passover holiday concludes, we will pray for the release of all the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and wish all readers of Haifa wherever they are a true holiday of freedom!
I will only refer to the building. I arrived there while my son was studying there, who was a student. I was surprised that such a building won the "Design Award" from the Association of Architects and Interior Designers. I admit that I had not heard of them. Even though I once headed a committee in the Association of Architects. Look, from a place that educates architects, there are higher expectations. At the WIZO Academic Center, there is a problem with all the final planning, both interior and exterior. Responsibility that falls to the architect. Outside, they chose wooden planks connected with iron connectors that reached a shocking state of decay when I saw them about 7 years ago. Inside, there is an open gallery with a depressing, truly shocking iron railing. You have to compare apples to apples and pears to pears. There are dozens of buildings at the Technion with similar, if not identical, uses to this building. Some were built in the 60s and some right now. I have not seen anyone in such a state. And another place that teaches design?
Thank you for your response. Despite the failures you point out, the building creates an atmosphere that encourages architectural creativity to a greater extent than the Faculty of Architecture building at the Technion, which also has countless architectural failures. (From personal information based on 30 years of teaching at the faculty).
With your permission, I would like to correct that the Wizo High School was not established in 1971 as stated in the article.
In 1939, the WIZO High School for Girls was founded in the name of Henrietta Arwell (one of the founders of WIZO). Until 1950, the school was on Hermon Street (Geula neighborhood, Hadar).
In 1949, construction began on a new building for the school (at 12 Hana Senesh Street, Ramat Hadar).
The architect of the school building is M. Lev.
(Based on an article in Haaretz newspaper dated
1.6.1949).
The founder of WIZO College named after Neri Bloomfield was the principal of Zeev Shadmon High School.
The college was an institution that grew out of high school and initially opened two academic tracks: technical arts and textile arts.
The WIZO Vocational School for Girls eventually became the WIZO High School for Art and Design.
The school is now called the Sh'ash Sh'anti Reut School of the Arts, and offers the following majors: theater, dance, plastic arts, music, visual design, fashion design, and photography.
Thank you for your response. The article was based on Wikipedia and it turns out that the information is incomplete. We will correct the article.
True and stable. And to expand as a graduate of its second class, the college, founded in 1971, awarded graduates a teaching certificate in the arts.
Thanks for the correction and response. I read it and was about to comment on it myself. I just don't understand why the error hasn't been corrected in the article itself?
I attended Wizo High School between 1975-1979, and then the college, which was in its infancy, was actually located there. I returned to the place in 1982 when I was accepted into the graphic design department and graduated in 1986. In 2000, the college moved to HaGanim Street.
The high school remained in place and went through incarnations as Leobak and today is the High School for the Arts – Reut.
In my opinion, all support given to institutions in Haifa should be removed.