Zvi Hecker: art museum, Ramat Gan, Israel.Originally an agricultural settlement on the edge of Tel Aviv Tel Aviv (tĕl əvēv`), city (1994 pop. 355,200), W central Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea. Oficially named Tel Aviv–Jaffa, it is Israel's commercial, financial, communications, and cultural center and the core of its largest , Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (rä`mät gän), city (1994 pop. 122,200), W central Israel, adjacent to Tel Aviv. Founded in 1921, Ramat Gan is an important industrial center. Food processing is the chief industry; construction materials are also made there. has mushroomed to a fully fledged city, housing Israel's national stadium, a major diamond exchange, and the country's tallest office tower. Here, around 16 years ago, Zvi Hecker also built his famous Spiral apartment block (AR October 1990), an ebullient architectural bricolage bri·co·lage n. Something made or put together using whatever materials happen to be available: "Even the decor is a bricolage, a mix of this and that" Los Angeles Times. , notable for the anecdote that Hecker (allegedly) took potshots at the building during construction (he lived across the street from the site), when he considered workmanship standards below par. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This latest project sees Hecker returning to Ramat Gan, but under rather more sedate se·date v. To administer a sedative to; calm or relieve by means of a sedative drug. circumstances. Every growing city worth its salt needs an art museum, and Hecker is to provide it, adding a new element to Ramat Gan's existing cultural milieu of library and multipurpose mul·ti·pur·pose adj. Designed or used for several purposes: a multipurpose room; multipurpose software. multipurpose Adjective auditorium. The museum will be dedicated to the acquisition and display of Israeli art. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Due for completion in 2009, the building is conceived as a series of elongated e·lon·gate tr. & intr.v. e·lon·gat·ed, e·lon·gat·ing, e·lon·gates To make or grow longer. adj. or elongated 1. Made longer; extended. 2. Having more length than width; slender. terraces slotted into each other like a nest of tables. Winding up from an entrance square to the roof, the terraces provide adaptable spaces for different functions--al fresco cafe, sculpture garden, viewing platform and so on. A similar array of internal terraces create interconnecting exhibition spaces. Circulation is legible, as internal and external terraces mirror each other, and indirect light penetrates deep into the building through north-facing glass walls. It's a far cry from the hectic exuberance of The Spiral, but Hecker's nonetheless inventive orchestration of light and space will make a lasting mark on the city. C.S. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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