Batı görünüş / West elevation
Güney görünüş / South elevation
Holy Sepulchre Kilisesi’nin önünde bulunan meydan, Kudüs.
The entrance square to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
controlled by latches that allow air to flow in and out of
the gap of the roof construction in summer when open or
allow heated air into the interior when closed. In this way
the stone’s thermal mass is aligned with the structure of the
building.
In Segal’s design the National Library of Israel’s roof entirely
clad in Jerusalem stoned with its stepped terraces echoes
the natural peaks of Jerusalem and their terraced hillsides
creating a topographic landscape of stone terraces. These
stone terraces also act as public space allowing visitors to
enjoy the surrounding urban panorama and use the steps
as an outdoor reading area. The exterior stepped roof layer
is expanded from the center (courtyard) towards the edge
giving the opportunity to create deep, vertical galleries in
the interior. The proposed design gives a clear message that
knowledge is to be kept securely in this closed stone volume
but light is allowed to penetrate these spaces of knowledge.
Jerusalem stone, a local limestone, is entirely used for
the roof structure and for large parts of the elevations, on
the floors (including the courtyard floors and the exterior
north-south public plazas) and in the interior, active public
areas such as the entrance lobby, cultural/education center
and administration wing. The design team stated that the
Jerusalem stone was chosen to combine and embed new
and old stone from Jerusalem’s seven hills on the building’s
roof, which is de-facto, its main façade. The effect will
produce a pallet of mixed shades, hues and depths set
within the overarching square geometry of the steps,
enhancing the differences in the surface while highlighting
its unifying geometric form.
Jerusalem stone exists in the hills surrounding Jerusalem and
mostly quarried around the Hebron district has been used
historically in the buildings of the city for centuries. The stone
comes in a variety of cream/yellowish and red colors when
set against the strong Jerusalem light. The old city walls
built during the Ottoman Empire in the mid-16th century by
Süleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566) are examples of the
historic use of Jerusalem stone in the area. Importantly in
the modern period the same stone was used for the architect
Josep Klarwein’s (d. 1970) initial design for Israeli Parliament
‘Knesset’, 1966, with a stone colonnade reminiscent of the
Anıtkabir in Ankara, Turkey, 1953. Later the neighboring
Knesset design was changed into primarily a reinforced
concrete structure and aesthetic that is in contrast’s to
Segal’s re-appropriation of the material and topographic
characteristics of Jerusalem for the National Library.
TEMMUZ - AĞUSTOS 2013 / JULY - AUGUST 2013 • NATURA 57