Beit Avi-Chai
Ada Karmi-Melamede Architects
Beit Avi-Chai is an educational institution located in the center of Jerusalem within a mixed use zone of residential, commercial and institutional buildings. It contains an auditorium, a library, classrooms, and private offices on the top floor used by the Avi-Chai Foundation. The building is formed around a courtyard, open to the sky and shielded from the street by an elongated opaque wall that runs along the sidewalk. This institute is introverted. It consists of three sections: the auditorium, the foyer with the classrooms above, and the library. All three focus on the courtyard which extends from the foyer and acts as the living room for the entire building. The external face of the building is cladded by stone, while the inside face is 'dressed' by a curtain of metal and glass. Cantilevered translucent louvers protect the transparent surfaces all around the different exposures. A circulation system connects the three sections around the courtyard, creating a space removed from the noisy outside. The the courtyard is the heart of the building - serene and ceremonial.