Theodor Herzl Center
THEODOR HERZL CENTER
Asaf Lerman
ARCHITECTS
Asaf Lerman
MANUFACTURERS
Autodesk, Ackerstein
DESIGN TEAM
Danielle Nagila, Nimrod Schenkelbach, Itai Bechor
ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Asaf Lerman
PHOTOGRAPHS
Amit Geron, Nimrod Levy, Daniel Finkelstein
CLIENT
Herzilya Municipallity
AREA
2500 m²
YEAR
2019
LOCATION
Herzliya, Israel
CATEGORY
Visual Arts Center, Cultural Center
Text description provided by architect.
In a beachside residential area of Herzliya, TEO (the Theodor Herzl Center for Culture, Art and Content) comes into view as a distinct single storey building, eminently lower than the neighborhood’s enclosed private mansions.
The freestanding TEO opens up a wide panorama toward the west—the horizon over the ocean—thus rupturing the visual and social narrative of walled luxury villas this area of Herzliya is known for.
The insertion of a fully exposed public cultural center as an event in the surrounding urban-scape was key to the design strategy.
TEO provides a unique functional facility to the city’s art-practicing and culture-seeking residents. The plan is designed as a 50 by 50 meters square layout around an offset central patio surrounded by the various programs:
a music conservatory, a dance school, art and ceramics studios, a gallery, a senior recreation center and a cafeteria. An upper partial floor houses a library complemented by a 300 m2 open deck.
The uniqueness of the design lies in the coherence of a precise geometric module that is strictly enforced throughout.
Concrete (on site casts & precast units), textured glass and metal flow seamlessly from exterior to interior surfaces.
Cutting-edge sealing techniques were used to protect the building from rain while maintaining its flat roof silhouette and tight proportions.
The patio (292 m2) makes available a space of quiet and welcoming scale. The floated, draining floor provides a pleasing horizontal surface from which a single mature oak tree rises.
Direct sunlight from above dynamically projects its presence across the patio’s surfaces, creating ever-changing visual compositions of organic against geometrical form.
