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Project materials held at McGillProject Title
Habitat Israel
Description
Habitat Israel was designed as an industrialized housing system for the Israeli Government’s Ministry of Housing. Tremendous climatic variation across the country required a design with great versatility in fenestration, heating, cooling, insulation, topographic adaptability, and density.
The basic factory-produced module, therefore, constitutes both a building and an environmental system. Units combine easily into either two- and three-story carpet housing, hillside terracing, or high-rise clusters. The basic modules group around a vertical service stack and join by pedestrian bridges with parking below. Semi-circular convertible domes over the terrace gardens rotate to adapt the basic module design for varying climates. In the desert, an inner dome-shaped shutter screens strong sunlight; in colder mountain regions, a clear glass dome window creates a warm light-filled interior. Modules and domes could be combined to create different densities, types, and unit sizes, including side-by-side to form low-rise low-density configurations, staggered in two- to three-story mid-rise townhouses, or stacked to form high-rise terraced apartments.
Images on this page: 1 Photomontage of model in site; 2 Physical model; 3 Aerial view of model; 4 Exploded axonometrics; 5 Typical subdividable three-bedroom unit plans, section, and axonometric
Jerusalem, Israel
The basic factory-produced module, therefore, constitutes both a building and an environmental system. Units combine easily into either two- and three-story carpet housing, hillside terracing, or high-rise clusters. The basic modules group around a vertical service stack and join by pedestrian bridges with parking below. Semi-circular convertible domes over the terrace gardens rotate to adapt the basic module design for varying climates. In the desert, an inner dome-shaped shutter screens strong sunlight; in colder mountain regions, a clear glass dome window creates a warm light-filled interior. Modules and domes could be combined to create different densities, types, and unit sizes, including side-by-side to form low-rise low-density configurations, staggered in two- to three-story mid-rise townhouses, or stacked to form high-rise terraced apartments.
Images on this page: 1 Photomontage of model in site; 2 Physical model; 3 Aerial view of model; 4 Exploded axonometrics; 5 Typical subdividable three-bedroom unit plans, section, and axonometric
Jerusalem, Israel
Timeline
between 1969 and 1970
Location
Status
Completion Date
Notes
Client: Ministry of Housing, Government of Israel
Project Type
Image Types
Creator
Safdie Architects
Rights:
© Safdie Architects. Explicit permission to use images is required. Contact the Communications Director at Safdie Architects (617.629.2100) for more information.