Faculty of Health Professions, Ben-Gurion University

Beer-Sheva, Israel

The Deichmann Building for Health Professions is a new wing adjacent to the existing faculty of the Health Sciences complex.
The school has its own academic program for faculty and students, as well as a community agenda that relates to the needs of the city's population. In response to this spirit, the building is open ended, contained in certain parts and expansive in others. A linear public space that traverses the entire central area of the Deichmann building articulates this intention. This spine develops between two nodes. At the main entry to the east a strong joint is created with the Faculty of Health Sciences – a glass wall reveals a wide staircase and a ramp, alongside a curved wall, which wraps around a group of classrooms and disappears into the middle section of the building. Further, it departs to assume its own characteristics independent of the previous joint. It is an introverted public room, which becomes the main focus of the entire school. Each and every function gravitates towards its dynamic form, which diminishes in scale between its two extremities. By bisecting the whole volume, and through its variable section, the route becomes the main order giving element of the project.

Two elongated wings that house all the functional components face the route.

A tension is created along its axis, coupled with a rich and variable light, penetrating from above. Here the atmosphere and the mood are continuously changing. This space behaves like a spine that connects and holds all the pieces together. A space governed by light - for circulation, for orientation and for the unpredictable encounters that take place between classes.

At the far end, to the west, the route terminates in an intimate and protected room, which functions as a multipurpose quiet zone opening to the outside. It is a place removed from the main axis, for chatting and relaxing.