Adaptive Reuse Studio

The recycling, renewal and intervention in existing buildings, even those that are not at all for conservation, are an important part of the day-to-day work of many architects, including the biggest and most famous of them. It is clear that this topic is appropriate and significant in the field of sustainable architecture: recycling and renewal of buildings is economical in building new infrastructures, economical in demolition, reuse of materials, reduction of pollutants, saving of economic resources and in addition, prevents disruption of existing fabric. The subject of the project focuses on renewing and intervening in existing buildings whether they are for strict preservation or not necessarily for preservation, giving a new interpretation to those buildings that have been emptied of their contents, or there is a demand for a change in function as part of a broad concept of urban/environmental revitalization.

Yohanan John Terentyak

If I ask you to think of the first word that comes to mind when you think of the Weizmann Institute, you would probably think of the words 'science', 'innovation' or 'novel'. But the word that best describes the area in my opinion is 'fence'. While the institute is bounded and does not form a connection with the city of Rehovot, the Sun Tower weaves a continuous connection and is an inseparable part of its surroundings. Starting with the circular line that rises from the surroundings and grows the building from the ground and ends with its distinct connection between the vertical tower and the horizontal tower, which continues the hills of vegetation on its sides. The planning and development process made an attempt to preserve these values and even strengthen them in order to give the external visitors a sense of belonging to the space of the institute to the same extent as those staying in it through four main interventions;
- The adoption of the circular lines into a pedestrian promenade throughout the space, both open and closed.
- Creating circular spaces that arise from the movement pattern and emphasize the continuous movement.
- Implementation of a shell that connects the two hills, brings light into the horizontal tower and emphasizes the growth of the tower from the ground.
- The blurring of interior and exterior relations by introducing vegetation into the interior of the building and completely sealing off certain spaces to create continuity between the closed and open spaces.
Using these tools, a layered space is created, the transition between one layer and another is done gradually, inviting all who come to move with optimal freedom on all parts of the building and intensifying the act of wandering.

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