אדריכלות ישראלית

House at Karmei Yosef

Architecture of Israel #

106

August

2016

page

english

kedem shinar's debut house

communicating with

scenery

at karmei yosef

What does it mean to design a 350 sqm

private house?

When I was a student in Japan, we were

once asked to design a house without one

of its crucial components. After a short

debate with myself about this unusual

request I decided to challenge myself with

a roofless house. A short search revealed

many interesting options, one of them was

a house whose entire envelope was of

openable shutters, enabling one to sit in the

living room at night and look up at the stars.

I still dream of building a house like this, but

my design approach since is based on the

need to think outside the box - to give free

rein to imagination, allowing the impossible

to happen.

What is the difference between a house

in Karmei Yosef or one in Bethlehem?

I am a big believer in locality, but prefer to

interpret the place from my own perspective

in order to create something new, as long as

it is not alien to the place. In Karmei Yosef

this finds expression in a different use of

simple materials, large windows overlooking

the garden and the adjacent forest. This

actually dictated the orientation of the house,

locating the large openings in the north

without needing shading devices; as well as

constructing a thin "floating" aluminum roof

to convey the sense of lightness. There was

also foreign inspiration like the international

style, Japanese architecture and the

Eames House that elegantly connect with

the landscape, despite its rectangular

composition and industrial materials.

How was it to design for your parents -

people who used to tell you what to do?

It was great! we had similar taste, their love

meant I was given a free hand to manifest

The stretch of space between the exposed stairwell on one side and vertical library on

the other, results in a visual tension between up and down, horizontal and vertical. The

scenery, let in through a rectangular composition of open and closed squares, creates

a play of light and shade that blurs the difference between seen and unseen, imbuing

the restrained form and basic materials with their unique qualities.

many of my creative aspirations, provided

they were "functional"... For instance, the

windows in the house had to be accessible

for cleaning. This forced me to create small

bridges and even pergolas that could be

stepped on. They knew it was not my first

building and they trusted me to create a

house that was both intimate and dramatic.

Like my father, my mother is an architect,

so I learned a great deal from her. Many

long days and nights were spent exploring,

experimenting, with long conversations that

all led to a good result.

Judging from the order and cleanliness,

this is clearly not your first building, but

it is your first house as an independent

architect. Did you try harder?

Yes. As an employee, I was responsible for

several projects, among them the Sderot

train station together with my father at

Mann-Shinar Architects, as well as the

reconstruction of the Caesarea Rothschild

Foundation on Rothschild blvd at Skorka

Architects. After completing my studies, I

worked in Japan for Kengo Kuma and Toyo

Ito. The house in Karmei Yosef is indeed my

first house as a self-employed architect, and

yes, I made a huge effort, because I had a

natural desire to give my parents the best,

and to fulfill my own creative desires.

What did your father say about it… after

all, his office is considered one of the

foremost in Israel?

My father is actually my guiding spirit. I have

learned a lot from him and gained support

and inspiration. As a child, I remember him

letting me glue his models and color in the

plans. He loves the house and is proud of

me. When the house was accomplished, he

said he would not have had the patience to

invest so much in the small details.

Did you get advice along the way?

Of course. First of all, from the clients from

whom I learned a great deal about their

special needs and insistence on details.

Secondly, I learned a lot from the craftsmen,

who always know their job better than me.

I learned humility and to give others credit

where it is due. Thirdly, I occasionally get

advice from architects around me.

Did you accept their comments or try to

prove you knew better?

Sometimes. It was important to me to realize

my own design dreams, even if sometimes

they turned out to be different. I made

“possible” what i was told was “impossible”!

For instance, the thin “floating” roof, and

“hanging” concrete wall embedded in a

glazed wall. Here and there I accepted

advice that helped me find better solutions,

such as how to maximize the meeting

between house and ground.

Given the chance, what would you do

differently?

Nothing… I am still excited by the result.

What would you like me to ask you…and

don’t forget that we at AI are mean with

flattery…

Well, it’s important to me to talk more about

the impact of Japanese architecture on my

way of thinking, particularly about the unique

combination of minimalism with the local

tendency to go wild. This finds expression

in the origami-like folded roof, some

unexpected angles, or “by enveloping” the

living room in a glass wall. I’m not the first

to do this, but I am definitely proud of the

combination of all these things, and with no

humility, the result speaks for me…

Dr. Hillit Mazor