Project Description
The enclosed campus paradigm of the Tel Aviv University is challenged for the first time in 34 years (second only to the Tel Aviv university art gallery opened in 1988) as a new building re-connects the city and the campus. The building, designed by PEZ in collaboration with Zarhy Architects, houses both R&D Center for a worldwide leading semiconductor company together with the Tel Aviv University Engineering Faculty, creating a unique meeting point for academia and industry.
Located on a prominent site on the hillside, The building changes the landscape of Tel Aviv’s main highway. It takes advantage of the site’s height elevation difference in order to create a diverse, accessible and animated urban façade. Its open ground floor showcases learning spaces, lobby and cafeteria and allows direct entrance to the building from the city streets. A new generation of research buildings is introduced, abandoning the idea of academia as an enclosed and detached Ivory Tower and connecting it to the vibrant Tel Aviv urban life.
The building re-invents the idea of architectural flexibility by creating an exoskeleton, liberating the interior spaces from structural elements, enabling endless layout possibilities. This exoskeleton consists of structural elements and an innovative sun-shading system, which re-interprets the brutalist brise-soleil tradition on campus in a contemporary manner, creating a striking architectural identity. Inside the flexible framework, a series of social spaces are created to encourage informal meetings, collaborations and ultimately innovation. It is a new model of a research building – simple, efficient on one hand and iconic on the other hand.
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FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY
Name: Faculty of Engineering, TAU
Type: Invited competition, 1st prize (2017, completed 2021)
Size: 15,000m2 above grade, 15,000m2 below grade
Location: Tel Aviv University Campus, Tel-Aviv Jaffa, IL
Architecture:
PEZ + Zarhy Architects
Partners-in-Charge: Daniel Zarhy, Pedro Peña, David Zarhy
Project architect: Nimrod Schenkelbach
Team: Matan Gal, Nir Leshem, Liron Barkai, Nofar Ramer
Project Management: Yaron-Levi | CBRE Israel
Structure: Ballas Structural engineers
HVAC: HRVAC
Plumbing: Yosha
Electricity: Yani
Façade: XMADE Barcelona
Fire: Aldaag
Kitchen: Nachshon
Accessibility: Tamar Lubetsky
Interiors (TAU): PEZ + Zarhy Architects
Interiors (Semiconductor): Setter Architects
Landscape: Miller-Blum Landscape Architects
Traffic: Dagesh
Shelter: Rami Levi
General Contractor: Tidhar
Façade contractor: Alumeshet
Photography: Mikaela Burstow