Knafo Klimor Architects, Haifa, Israel

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Architecture Firm Knafo Klimor Architects
People David Knafo & Tagit Klimor, partners
Address 20 Kiryat Sefer
Haifa, 34676 Israel
Telephone 972-4-8243147
Fax 972-4-8255466
Email haifa@kkarc.com
Web Site http://www.kkarc.com
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Contents

Street view of Agro-Housing, Wuhan, China by Knafo Klimor Architects through the atrium to the greenhouses.
Street view of Agro-Housing, Wuhan, China by Knafo Klimor Architects through the atrium to the greenhouses.

Knafo Klimor Architects was founded by David Knafo and Tagit Klimor in 1980. The firm operates from two branches (one in Tel Aviv and one in Haifa, Israel) with a diverse staff including architects, urban planners and designers.

[edit] Practice

[edit] About

Since its founding, the firm has been responsible for the design of a wide variety of numerous large- and small-scale projects:

  • Public and institutional buildings
  • Education and sports facilities
  • Industrial and hi-tech plants
  • Commercial complexes and office buildings
  • Neighborhoods and residential buildings
  • Urban design and town planning

The firm's clients include government offices and local authorities, private developers and construction companies.

Much of the work has been published in professional magazines worldwide, and has been exhibited in numerous galleries and architectural institutions.

Both partners David Knafo and Tagit Klimor are senior lecturers at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.

[edit] Tel Aviv Office

14 Karlibach St.
Tel Aviv, 67133 Israel
tel. 972 3 5624262
fax. 972 3 5628262

[edit] Philosophy

Knafo Klimor Architects is committed to:

  • Humanistic approach in design
  • Preservation of natural resources
  • Development of sustainable architecture
  • Development of sustainable regionalism
  • Preservation of a community identity within rational globalization[1]

Knafo Klimor Architects rose to international prominence with their win of the 2007 International Competition for Sustainable Housing, held by Living Steel. The design was an example of their dedication to sustainable design through unique approaches. This dedication is based on their Seven Points for Sustainable Regionalism.

[edit] Seven Points for Sustainable Regionalism

  1. Humanistic Approach "Architecture, above all, is a social discipline in the service of the individual and the collective. It carries great responsibility for the creation of humanistic environment in the design of public and private spaces."
  2. Identity and Regionalism "Architecture reflects the cultural identity of a community. By its appearance and vocabulary architecture engraves the spiritual values of a people in its collective memory. Architecture is a way of communication maintains a permanent dialogue with the language of the people. In our case Hebrew as a language creates a unique space for invention and development of the Israeli Architecture."
  3. Sustainability "Limitation of earth resources drives us into necessity for redefining our living spaces and mode of life. Green architecture raises a challenge for the creation of new building programs and urban orders. Today architects have the privilege to participate in redesigning our environment."
  4. Technology and Tradition "Implementation of technological innovations is essential to the development of architecture. But on the same time preservation of valuable traditions is crucial to the continuous evolution of civilization. Therefore new interpretations of historical heritage must be in the basis of architectural conception."
  5. Rational Globalization "The globalization movement leads to an international uniform culture based on western values threatening existing traditions and languages. Freedom, tolerance and compassion are essential to preserve the richness of human heritages. Rational globalization is needed to create a smooth integration and assimilation of new invention in contemporary life."
  6. Utopia as a Generator for Change "Since the early ages utopia was behind historical changes and revolutions. In architecture as in urban planning utopia was the generator behind the change of conceptions and orders. Utopia will remain the lighthouse to follow in recreating the way of living, the way of building."
  7. New Urbanism for a Better Life "Half of earth population live in the cities and challenge its nature, shape and identity. In an era of sustainability and high technology urbanism has to invent new forms of gathering and physical orders for hosting human activities and for designing a better life." [1]

[edit] Selected Projects

[edit] Agro-Housing

Interior view of Agro-Housing, Wuhan, China by Knafo Klimor Architects from an apartment's balcony through the atrium to the greenhouses.
Interior view of Agro-Housing, Wuhan, China by Knafo Klimor Architects from an apartment's balcony through the atrium to the greenhouses.

Agro-housing, the winning design for Living Steel's 2007 International Competition for Sustainable Housing, designed for Wuhan, China, blends urban and rural living by creating vertical greenhouse spaces between high-rise apartments. The Agro-housing concept encourages tenants to produce their own food, reduces commuting needs and provides a green community.[2]

Knafo Klimor Architects developed this concept with concern for predictions that soon 50% of China's one billion people will live in its cities, a trend mirrored in many developing countries in the world. The architects observe that massive urbanization displaces communities, dissipating existing traditions and heritage, as well as placing a strain on energy resources and infrastructure. The Agro-housing concept presents a new urban and social vision that addresses this chaotic urbanization problem by creating a new order in the city and, more specifically, in the housing environment. The idea behind Agro-housing is to create a space close to home where families can produce their own food supply according to their own abilities, tastes and choices to promote independent living, freedom and potentially provide additional income. Additionally, these greenhouse spaces become a natural gathering place for the community to interact. Agro-housing is a place for living, but it is essentially a model for a new urbanity, contributing to the preservation of traditions and community values and diminishing the trials of rural migration. [3]

Agro-Housing is composed of two parts: the apartment's tower and the vertical greenhouses. The greenhouses are multi-floor structures woven into the fabric of the building, and designed for easy cultivation of crops such as vegetables, fruits, flowers and spices in a soil-less medium equipped with a drip irrigation system that re-uses grey water. The greenhouse climate is controlled through natural ventilation and a heating system. A roof-top terrace garden offers open-air community green space for recreation and informal gathering. A sky club on the roof is designed to host social gatherings and celebrations, and a kindergarten on the ground floor keeps young children close to home and family. The individual apartments were designed for maximum flexibility when arranging interior spaces in order to accommodate family life changes over time, including integration of a work space. The building's footprint was minimized in order to free the ground surface for gardening and rainwater harvesting. Paving is limited and made of recycled materials. [2]

With Agro-housing, Knafo Klimor Architects envisions a community that can provide its own food, jobs and saleable goods right where the people live, gifting residents with the resources for self-reliance within an urban setting.

Watch Movie: Agro-Housing at Haifa Mediterranean Biennale of Contemporary Art

[edit] Carmel Academic Center

Carmel Academic Center, Haifa, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.
Carmel Academic Center, Haifa, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.

Haifa's downtown and port area was conceived and built under the British mandate in Israel in the 1930's. The modernization of the port and Haifa downtown development left a large part of the area neglected for some decades. The recent renewal initiative, lead by the Haifa municipality, calls for the revision of this old area by introducing academic uses, inspiring the idea of refurbishing existing deserted buildings. Following the introduction of this urban concept the Carmel Academy found its new address within an old neglected warehouse slated to be converted into an academic institution. The very simple existing geometrical box was kept and now houses classrooms, a library and seminar rooms and administration in a building of 3 stories with an area of approximately 3,000 sq. m.

A central atrium that allows social activities and gatherings in a calm atmosphere was designed to create a sense of orientation in the building and to let natural light penetrate into its inner spaces.

The façade of the building is clad with digitally printed glass panels that display a gallery of iconic figures such as writers, poets, architects and actors who have contributed to Israeli culture. This architectural gesture enhances the purpose of the building as an academic institution and carries its concept and vision onto its exterior envelope. The glass panels were clad to the structure through a simple system of aluminium spider elements with open joints. At night the façade is illuminated by a LED system hidden behind the glass panels, creating a unique impression of the building, like an urban lighthouse in Haifa's downtown, restoring the memory of its historical role.

The illuminating envelope provides the structure, which had been neglected and decaying, an element of rejuvenation incorporated into a gesture to local culture. The project, thanks to its unusual design, has become an iconic building in the renewing port campus area.

[edit] Ruppin Academic Library and Memorial

Ruppin Academic Library and Memorial, Emek Hefer, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.
Ruppin Academic Library and Memorial, Emek Hefer, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.

The Ruppin Academic Library and Memorial in Emek Hefer, Israel was planned according to the architectural concept of the academic center as an island in the midst of the countryside- to promote and maintain the green, naturalistic image of the campus.

The building seems to sprout from the ground, in a landscape of lawns and trees, as if it had always been present beneath the surface. The building unfolds and fans out, creating a statuesque structure in harmony with the natural curves of the landscape. Most of the rooftops are covered with vegetation, primarily close-cropped lawns. These recompense the space occupied by the built mass with green surfaces, which in turn are a link to the existing public spaces in the campus.

The scheme of the library resembles an L-shape embracing a public garden; an orientation point for the inner volumes of the library. The auditorium wing is situated beneath ground level, with the moderately sloping green roof serving as an amphitheatre and an extension to the campus lawns. The library wing is built like a wave rising from ground level in a fluid motion, overlooking the entire countryside and the other campus buildings.

Knafo Klimor Architects made an effort to create an efficient energy-saving building through the design of the outer envelope and the orientation of the built forms to preferable climatic conditions and the sun’s position. A great deal of energy is reduced by improved thermal insulation - building beneath ground level and covering large areas of the rooftops with insulating layers of vegetation and substrate. This ecological image of the building both satisfies functional requirements and promotes awareness to environmental issues. [4]

[edit] Scroll of Light Synagogue

Scroll of Light Synagogue, Caesarea, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.
Scroll of Light Synagogue, Caesarea, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.

The scroll is the central motif in the design of the Scroll of Light Synagogue in Caesarea, Israel, as it is a means for developing a story which is not disrupted by the turning of pages, but rather develops gradually and continuously to form a complete story.

Movement in the structure of the synagogue develops alongside the curving "parchment", which leads towards the inner space and guides a process of spiritual change, towards the gradual revelation of the place of prayer. As congregants gather together they look around and experience the minimalistic inner court, which frames the lone olive tree. The court secludes the congregation from the racket of secular life and connects it to the earth and the sky. The space discovered is a world of tranquility and self reflection.

The building is designed as a spiral, which aims to express the cyclic aspect of Judaism, and the connection between circular time and linear time. The experience of circular time is one of recurrence and cyclic motion. The experience of linear time is one of development and change along the timeline. These two systems meet at momentary, unique points in time, thus creating the spiral continuum. The hub of the Scroll's coming together forms the prayer hall, isolated from its surroundings by the lack of direct visual contact. The isolation transforms the place into a microcosm, where the strongest force is that of the light penetrating the building through openings in the ceiling. This hidden light washes over the curved walls, which come together towards the Holy Ark. The Ark hovers over a pool of water and is lit by a soft, indirect light that is reflected in the pool. The place's symbolism as a "Scroll of Light" aims to emphasize the meaning of the creation of light as the foundation of life, and as a symbol of truth, knowledge, and hope. [5]

Watch Movie: Development of Scroll of Light Synagogue

[edit] Maalot Music Conservatory

Maalot Music Conservatory, Maalot Tarshiha, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.
Maalot Music Conservatory, Maalot Tarshiha, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.

The Maalot Music Conservatory was designed as a place for music and enchantment. The conservatory is located on a hill in the midst of the town, where it has a view of the city's urban landscape on one hand, and the wood-hills of the Galilee on the other.

This music center is a meeting place, a place of creation and inspiration, and a place where people live in picturesque landscapes.

The population in the city is traditionally a mixture of Arab and Jewish inhabitants, with newcomers in the recent years. Therefore, besides being a place for the savoring of sounds and melodies the center was also created as a space for multi-cultural debate and exchange of ideas maintaining a mutual respect of people and traditions. The ethnic encounters create an exceptional opportunity to bring together different kinds of cultures, languages and aspirations.

The architecture of the building was inspired by the local community and was designed to crystallize it in its spaces and facades. The building is a composition of glass and stone boxes roofed by aluminum panels holding each-other as a human chain in a dance-circle. This "dance of the boxes" is an expression of the tectonic dynamism and musical orchestration.[6]

[edit] Caesarea Kindergarten

Caesarea Kindergarten, Caesarea, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.
Caesarea Kindergarten, Caesarea, Israel by Knafo Klimor Architects.

To make the Caesarea Kindergarten in Caesarea, Israel friendly and inviting, Knafo Klimor Architects gave a great deal of attention to imagery. The outer walls are rendered in bright colors and carved into shapes that spark the children's imagination for storytelling. The three elephants on the outside walls might also serve to illustrate The Story of the Three Bears. On the interior walls, the elephants metamorphose into hippos, turtles, and other animals. As a clear accommodation for its small occupants, one of the two main-entrance doors is a tot-scaled four feet (1.2 meters) high, reflecting the architects' consideration of the building's users, and creating communication between the building and its dwellers. The building is also a connection to the environment. The kindergarten features an opening to the nature surrounding it, creating immediacy between inside and outside. Another phenomenon of the building is the interplay of light and shade. The natural contrast between light and shade creates a new range of form and color, creating a new architecture. This two-dimensional architecture creates a rich composition of color. [7]

[edit] Awards

  • 2008 Porter School of Environment Studies, Competition – Honorable mention
  • 2008 "The Transparent House", Public Building Design - Award for Excellence, “Klil Industries LTD”
  • 2008 "Scroll Of Light" Synagogue Caesarea, The Year Award by “Architecture of Israel” (AI)
  • 2007 "Agro-Housing", Wuhan, China, Winning Entry in Living Steel's International Competition for Sustainable Housing
“The jury appreciated the design for introducing valuable greenhouse space as an integral part of the high-rise, high-density development... the scheme could provide an exemplar building demonstrating how traditional sustainable communities could be created within the high density urban area|urban environment. The scheme is taking full advantage of rational steel frame structure providing open plan for flexible use of the space. The Jury looks forward to the idea being extended in its realisation…This project represents a potential new model for dense urban living, appropriate to the cultural and climatic conditions for urban environments in China. This project is presenting a gifting of something beyond that for which the brief called.”
—Jury Member Glenn Murcutt[8]
  • 2007 "Andromeda Sculpture" Jaffa Port - Finalist in Competition
  • 2006 Maalot Music Conservatory, The Year Award by “Architecture of Israel” (AI), Third prize
  • 2006 Caesarea Hi-Tech Park, The Caesarea Development Company, Competition Winners
  • 2006 "Halal Saf" Installation Competition, Tel Aviv Port, Competition Winner
  • 2006 Maalot Music Conservatory, The Year Award, by “Architecture of Israel” (AI) Third Prize
  • 2006 "Urban Life" Haifa, Engineering Administration Square, Haifa, Competition Winners
  • 2005 "Scroll of Light" Synagogue, Caesarea, Competition Winners
  • 2000 Residence Towers, Sapir, Haifa, The Quality Prize by Haifa Municipality
  • 1999 Academic Library and Memorial, Ruppin Academic Center, Competition Winners
  • 1998 "Sapir Heights" in Haifa, Housing Design Award of Best Design, Competition Winners
  • 1997 Sports Hall at Shoham, Merhav 97 Citation Award, Israeli Architects Association
  • 1995 Misgav Culture Center, The Israeli Architects Association Award
  • 1985 "The Public Place in the Kibbutz", The "Musa Harif” Award

[edit] Exhibitions

Promotional Poster for "Dwelling Fragments" Exhibition by Knafo Klimor Architects.
Promotional Poster for "Dwelling Fragments" Exhibition by Knafo Klimor Architects.
  • July 2010 "The Visible and Invisible City", Gross Gallery, Tel Aviv Watch Movie
  • May 2010 "Architecture of Necessity", WOOD 2010, Virserum Art Museum, Sweden (for Agro-Housing)
  • March 2010"Dwelling Fragments", The Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan Watch Movie
  • June 2009 "Israel 2 - Project of the Year finalists 2007-2008", ZeZeZe Gallery, Tel Aviv Port
  • May 2009 "Here and Now", Fredric R. Mann Auditorium, Tel Aviv
  • September 2008 "Dwelling in Green towards Sustainable Regionalism", ZeZeZe Gallery, Tel Aviv Port
  • August 2007 "This is Israel, Contemporary Architecture from Israel", ZeZeZe Gallery, Tel Aviv Port (for Maalot Music Conservatory)
  • September 2007 "China International Architectural Expo 2007", Beijing, China (for Agro-Housing)
  • January 2007 "Conservation of historic buildings and sites – from study to realization", The third assembly for the preservation of construction heritage, Acre (for The Israeli Embassy in Paris - Rehabilitation and reconstruction & Churches Path Kfar Cana – two case studies)
  • December 2005 "Architecture in Detail", The Israeli Architects association, Beit Yad Labanim Haifa, The 5th Israeli Architecture Biennial, Jerusalem (for Maalot Music Conservatory)
  • February 2000 "Israeli Architecture", Arsenal Pavilion, Paris.
  • May 1999 "Public Buildings in Israel", the Community Centers Association.
  • 1998 "Israeli Architecture 50th Year Anniversary - Achievements of Israeli architecture"
  • December 1997 "Merhav 1997" - Israeli Architects Association (for Shoham Sports Hall)
  • June 1995 "Haifa 2000" – Auditorium Haifa, (for projects in progress)
  • May 1993 "From the Architects Drawer", Bezalel School of Design, Jerusalem (for Carmilo Hotel)
  • April 1992 Ministry of Housing exhibition, the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center (for Neot Ashkelon Neighborhood)
  • May 1990 "Tel Aviv Kiosks", Tel Aviv Art Gallery
  • December 1989 "Architectural Thoughts", Horev Gallery, Haifa
  • May 1987 Housing Exhibition, The Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center

[edit] References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Knafo Klimor Architects Website
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Living Steel Website announcing winner
  3. ↑ Agro-Housing project page
  4. ↑ Ruppin Academic Library and Memorial project page
  5. ↑ Scroll of Light Synagogue project page
  6. ↑ Maalot Music Conservatory
  7. ↑ Architecture Week, "Creative Kindergarten", August 2003
  8. ↑ Living Steel 2nd Architectural Competition for Sustainable Housing, Jury Report

[edit] External Links

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