Israeli firm
Chyutin Architects have won a competition to build this museum that will bridge over a sunken garden in Jerusalem.
The Museum of Tolerance will sit on the border between the built-up city and Independence Park.
The museum, which houses a theatre, hall, restaurant and exhibition
spaces, is clad in stone with a curtain wall of glazing facing onto
the park.
The sunken garden will be accessed by sloping grass terraces and house the remains of a Roman viaduct.
Here’s more from the architects:
The Museum of Tolerance is located at the heart of modern Jerusalem,
in its rejuvenated city center, on the borderline between the spacious
Independence Park, and the urban built environment. The location is a
meeting site of three main streets which differ in character and
function. Hillel street: a bustling commercial zone; Moshe Ben Israel
street: a road crossing the park; and Moshe Salomon street- Nachalat
Shiva’s pedestrian mall, a tourist hub, full of restaurants and shops.
The buildings surrounding the museum site have diverse architectural
characteristics, representing the history of Jerusalem architecture
from the 19th century up today. We wanted the MOTJ building to be
integrated into the landscape without overshadowing the preexisting
urban setting on the one hand, while asserting its own unique character
on the other, an iconic structure that reflects transparency and
openness and generates visual interest at close and distant views. The
MOTJ is to act as a bridge between the different architectural styles
present in its location on one hand, while stylistically using
contemporary architectural language and exploring advanced technology
and materiality. We wanted the MOTJ building to stand in the warm
embrace of the urban fabric and the park around it, shinning as a jewel
set to the skyline of Jerusalem.
The MOTJ building is planed to host a variety of different
activities: exhibition spaces, an education center, a theater, a
multipurpose hall, offices, a restaurant, a gift shop, etc. The
activities are diverse in the types of visitor communities they serve,
in their operating hours, in their environmental requirements and in
their interaction with the urban context. The developed building
concept answers the requirements of each specific activity, encouraging
undisturbed access for the various communities to their appropriate
destinations.
We designed an elongated structure which traces the southern and
eastern borderline of the site. The structure orchestrates the three
surrounding streets, into a coherent urban space-a new public square
for the rejuvenated city center of Jerusalem. The design of the public
square incorporates several different elements: a sunken
archeological garden, enclosing the remains of the roman aqueduct
discovered at the site’s center, a terraced amphitheater, a grove and
various public paved areas, for the various activities of visitors.
The building is divided into two horizontal wings: a three floors
floating upper wing which hosts the theater and social meeting
spaces, and a two floors lower sunken wing which hosts the children
and the adult museums exhibition spaces- the so-called “dark box.”.
The entrance floor is located at the level of the public square hosts
a restaurant and gift shop The entrance floor is leading up to the
floating wing or down to the sunken one. A four-leveled lobby
connects the floating wing and the sunken one. Part of the floating
wing is suspended over ground level, creating a gap, a doorway,
from the built city to the park. Pedestrians who are relaxing in the
public square or walking towards the park may be enticed to enter
the MOTJ building and experience it.
The archeological garden serves as an outdoor space for the
sunken wing, contributing to the activities of the exhibition
spaces. The garden is connected to the street level by a terraced
slope which can be used as a seating area for outdoor performances.
It has 1200 seats capacity.
The architectural language of the MOTJ building sets it apart
from its backdrop as a visual icon, while still maintaining
continuity in terms of building height and materials with the urban
fabric around it. The location of the building on the borderline
between the city and the park dictates the design of the building
facades. In accordance with municipal regulations, the building
facades towards the city are stone-clad, and they exist in dialogue
with the 19th and 20th century stone houses beside it.
Towards the park, the structure has glass facades, which
relate to the glass park façade of the future courthouse. The
stone structure floats over the gap and the glass walls of the
building’s entrance. This allows for visual continuity between
the city and the park, preventing the building from becoming an
impenetrable barrier. The design of the facades, the roof and
underbelly as a geometrical envelop that connects folded stone-clad
planes may be understood as echoing the geographical form of
Jerusalem as a city surrounded by mountains.
The differences in design between the city and park facades
diversify and enrich the structure’s visual appearance. Walking
around the building may create an element of surprise.
from dezeen
