Competition Entry : 2000
Location: Technion Iinstitute of Technology, Haifa
client : Technion Iinstitute of Technology, Haifa

The dormitory project was designed to include some 250-apartment units, some studio apartments as well as two-rooms units for roommates or married couples.

The natural scenic values unique to the Carmel Mountain where the site is located, including the panoramic view of the sea, have always been crucial a factor in the development of the city of Haifa. These are values that I aspired to preserve, both in the design of the indoors and in the position of outdoors.

To overcome the tough topography, it was proposed to enable two types of movement: A quick 0ne via a vertical pedestrian tower of elevators, and a slow one, via a pedestrian “green path” along a terraced garden. That path stretches along the terraces, from the intersection at the upper level, which leads the students from the dormitory area to the faculty, to the public square at the bottom level.

The site plan was fully adapted to the hill’s topographical structure.
The dormitory mass was divided into two towers, each with its own entrances, both from the upper street level and from the public square.
The view terrace adjacent to the upper entrance lobby of the apartment towers is overlooking the public square below, creating a visual dialogue between students at both levels.

Access to the inner apartments is via hallways overlooking an atrium flooded with daylight filtering in through the glass dome above. The hallways are interspersed with spacious sitting areas overlooking the dramatic scenery.
The various elements of the building’s envelope were designed as an alternating repetition of pre-cast elements. The friendly feeling emanating from the building facades and dissolving the feeling of the mass was produced both by the form given to the different elements and the use of elements mixed with colored pigments alternating with elements of plain concrete.