Museum of Nature

project: Museum of Nature, Jerusalem, Israel
date: 2012 competition proposal
client: Jerusalem Development Authority
category: Cultural, Public
function: Museum complex
area: 60,000 square metres
role: Architecture, design and coordination
collaborators: David Nofar Architects & Urban Planners and IaN+

Description:

The programme required the addition to the existing Museum of Nature of two new museums, of science and technology, to create an ‘avenue of museums’. We interpreted this as a form that functions as a blend of elements, but with each having its own individual and distinct identity, in keeping with the ‘natural’ theme of the museum, inspired by and integrated with the beautiful terrain of the site itself and the surrounding landscape.

Other important features were the pedestrian axes, which added an urban and landscape planning element to the project.

All of this led us to form the complex partly underground, freeing up the surface to create natural green terraces that are perforated so that light and atmosphere can penetrate the spaces below. The ground covering most of the constructed volume acts as a thick layer of insulation, thus this underground approach is also in line with the requirements for low energy consumption considering the harsh climate of Jerusalem.

The design of the interior spaces follows the same understanding. Paths cross and share common spaces, while transparent facades allow views out towards the valley.