The Interdisciplinary Center, Hertzliya
The new schools of Business Administration and Government are housed in one building which responds to the existing campus architecture both in terms of height and material.
By carving into the site and 'planting' the building one floor below grade, we accommodated the loaded program and maintained the two storey height of adjacent structures.
The building defines a linear edge to the green landscape outside, and creates an enclosed sunken outdoor room for the school itself, which fronts on faculty offices and major classrooms.
The two schools are joined by a common meeting room which forms the gate to the introverted garden. They also share a linear circulation space, which sets the pace for the entire building. It terminates at both ends with classrooms stacked one upon the other, linked by galleries overlooking the space and by grand stairs that seem to disappear into light.
Spatially – this circulation route is delineated by a white wall which contains all the electrical and mechanical systems, and by a gently curved glass façade that creates a dynamic presence within and without the building. Here, where light and movement change continuously, a distinct place is created – a seam between the campus and the more private functions of the schools.
The building is composed of a set of parallel, linear layers, which change from light to heavy, from glass and gypsum to stone.
This transition is in parallel with light filtration into the building, abundant, almost free on the south, tamed and restrained in the middle, and merely screened on the northern elevation.
