אדריכלות ישראלית - גיליון 121

Project of the Year 2020 - Research Category אדריכלותישראלית Architecture of Israel # 121 | May 2020 | 106 personal vs. professional: weizmann institute gardens Shoshana Harari A chapter from a doctoral dissertation dealing with the relationship between Vera Weizmann and architect Erich Mendelsohn during the planning and building of Weizmann House, 1934-1937. The study relies on changes made over the years in the nature of the gardens to assess the residents’ romantic world view, as opposed to the professional content embedded in the design of the building and gardens as one architectural entity. Vera Weizmann, who believed in expressing the landscape of the country, made efforts to persuade Erich Mendelsohn that a home is "supposed to draw its character from the location". However, while her European memories served her as a reference point, Mendelsohn – already an internationally renowned architect at the time - chose to give the place his personal interpretation in the spirit of International Style. The study shows that either way, since its completion in 1937, the house and its impressive gardens have been considered an outstanding phenomenon in the local milieu. Hence, many visitors expressed their impressions in writing and painting, among them Reuben Rubin who devoted several paintings to the estate and surroundings. Balfour’s niece – Blanche Dugdale – who visited the country, later described her impressions in a letter, focusing on the garden: "(…) impressive in its abundance of colors (…) and although its fiery colorfulness resembles English gardens, it lives in perfect harmony with its purpose in the Eretz Israel environment." This description actually expresses the root of the conflict between the mistress of the house and the architect. Interestingly, although Vera preached about the connection with the local landscape, she in fact strove to reconstruct her familiar London environment, particularly Kensington Gardens, which for her constituted the picture of an ideal garden. In her autobiography Vera writes: "Kibbutz Weizmann, as I humorously call my home, is now becoming part of Israel's history. We have hosted princes, celebrities, artists as well as regular people." This arrogant expression indicates Vera's sense of mission, someone who sees the concept, "representative", as something with a western appearance. This, while Mendelssohn subtly managed to express his Modernist approach to local content in the flower beds he planned at the northern entrance to the house. Mendelsohn himself stated that he envisaged the house as representative of the romantic Zionist concept of the State of Israel to come. In this framework, he imagines a house whose gardens connect all parts of the "Empire" crossing continents while creating a symbolic entity beyond time and space (free translation). In this context, the symbolic motifs also penetrate parts of the building and gate -house based on the essence of the classic Greek "gate structure" as something intended to promote a shift for the visitor who enters a tall sublime world from the outside. One way or another, both Mendelsohn and Vera’s symbolic plant selection in the gardens surrounding the house actually create a complex, international character consisting of imported vegetation from all corners of the earth. Hence, Mendelsohn’s sketches indicate a clear contrast between the orthogonal outlines of the building, and the curving, stormy, wave-like gardens representing their surroundings. In this context, it is worth noting that the contrast is typical of Mendelsohn’s stylized mannerisms, probably learned from his modernist teachers, particularly Gropius, who used rounded lines to soften rectangular geometry, mainly in stairwells that provided him with a functional excuse; for example the western façade opening onto the swimming-pool so that air could flow from the sea during the late afternoon, cooling the entire structure. Likewise, the apsis balcony in Chaim’s bedroom, where peripheral windows enable a panoramic view of the eastern landscape throughout the day. In conclusion, it turns out that the architectural concept of the house, garden and its division into areas was more important to the architect than to the owners, who placed more importance on the personal content that filled them, such as furniture and plants. Interestingly, the site was purchased by the citrus grower, Eisenberg, at Vera’s request to fulfil Chaim Weizmann’s desire to live near the Ziv Institute, founded as a research institute for fertilizer that would help develop local agriculture and, a decade later, named after Weizmann. Tutor: Dr. Mor Presiado, Department of Jewish Art, Bar Ilan University. Project of the Year 2020 Research Category אדריכלות ישראלית architecture of israel the european union חדר מדרגות של וולטר גרופיוס שהוצג 1914 בתערוכה הבינלאומית של Walter Grupius' stairwell presented at the 1914 International Exhibition.