The harsh climate of the Negev desert became the thematic inspiration for the design of this building.
The materials and design of the exterior skin, or envelope, of this structure functionally protects the building from the desert elements yet at the same time, integrates with the arid topography.
The building sits on a Wadi and echoes the terrain as it creates its own protected, Wadi-like, vertical, inner courtyard. The interior courtyard is achieved at the convergence of the two functional elements of the building (research area and classrooms) and is unified by the envelope that encompasses them.
The project was produced in collaboration with architect Dany Lazar.