Ron Arad Architects
Design Museum Holon
Holon, Israel
The design for the museum, demonstrates an extremely sculptural approach, combining ingenuous and playful functionality with highly visual design.
Photo: Yael Pincus
The Design Museum Holon is the pinnacle of a sixteen-year urban regeneration program, a process which is transforming the city of Holon, central Israel, into a global epicenter for culture and education. The museum is committed to pioneering a creative arena for the exploration and examination of design principles and interpretations.
Photo: Yael Pincus
“When we started working on Design Museum Holon, it was like a white canvas, things developed and a direction was formed. We created a hierarchy of outdoor spaces so you walk in under the building into a semi-covered yard, where you have a choice to take the air-conditioned route or one exposed to the elements. The building envelope is not just a pretty space; it’s also a structure.”
Ron Arad Architects
Photo: Yael Pincus
Photo: Yael Pincus
Constructed of five sinuous bands of varying shades of weathered steel. The bands form a visual key that carries visitors into the building, through it and then out, instantly becoming a string that ties the whole building together inside and out.
Photo: Yael Pincus
Photo: Yael Pincus
Design Museum Holon accommodates two primary galleries and a number of diverse alternative exhibition and education spaces in-between. The Upper Gallery celebrates the abundance of natural light in Israel, the smaller, Lower Gallery, is taller inside but offers a more intimate, personal relationship between the visitor and the object on display.
Photo: Yael Pincus
Photo: Yael Pincus
Photo: Yael Pincus
Photo: Yael Pincus
“Working together from such an early stage of development has enabled us to find answers to the question of the relationship between curatorial space and public circulation. We were able to capitalize on the potential space between the curves of the bands so that all the surfaces around the galleries and public facilities would fit comfortably and in many cases create bonus galleries.”
Asa Bruno, Supervising Architect
The opening Exhibition,The State of Things: Design and the 21st Century, presents more than 100 products that collectively tell the story of the practice, consumption, and cultural impact of contemporary product design.
Model photo courtesy Design Museum Holon
Model photo courtesy Design Museum Holon
Total area: 4,100 square meters
Completed: 2010
Client: Holon Municipality
Principal Designer: Ron Arad Architects
Project Architects: Asa Bruno, James Foster.
Executive Architect: Sharon Ben-Shem
Project Management: Waxman Govrin Eng. Ltd.
Structural Engineer: Harmel Engineering Ltd.
Lighting Designer: RTLD
Landscape Architects: TeMA Landscape Architects
April 5, 2010