yael c. agmon

5 x 7.5 meters: Visitor's Center of Haifa

#Architecture #Public Building
Technion, Haifa

Finalist | Public Building Award, Technion 2010

The spectacular dramatic landscape of the city of Haifa is full of contradictions and tensions; between the mountains and the sea, the near and the distant view, the green and the polluted, the nature and the industry.

The proposed visitor center attempts to capture in its design the essence of the contradictory landscape of Haifa.  A grid of trees, 5/7.5 m, is proposed to remind the former agricultural use of the site and to resemble the penetrating vegetation all over the city. Between the trees several structures are located, composed from industrial remnants.

This composition has several urban advantages as it creates a naturally inviting public space, accessible and climatically balanced, that pulls the visitors into a microcosm of the city.