Ifat Finkelman has teamed up with Deborah Warschawski to refurbish the entrance courtyard of the Youth Wing for Art Education at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The existing pine tree is the focus of the project, the physical anchor of the design concept. As a tribute to the childhood collective memory of a tree house, a small roofed structure where children can hide and over look at, is positioned high up the tilted trunk, raised above the meticulous surroundings of the museum. Along with its strong iconic appearance, it also functions as the peak of one continuous structural folded element allows various situations occur along.
The structural technique- 2 cm Ipea boards fixed to a light steel skeleton – creates a range of transparencies from top to bottom. While gradually transforms towards the ground, the element’s surface becomes a playground; sitting elements framing a topography covered with a soft rubber surface. All this carefully hides the underground infrastructure configuration as well as a widespread root system.
At night the house is the only element illuminated, and emerges floating above the courtyard’s entrance.
all images © AMIT GERON | source archdaily