geotectura adds floating glass gallery to shenkar college in ramat gan

geotectura adds floating glass gallery to shenkar college in ramat gan
(above) the steel and glass structure was installed within a 1920’s building
image © lior avitan

located in the city of ramat gan, bordering tel aviv, in israel, the ‘michal and avraham kadar media lab’ was designed by geotectura for shenkar college within a 90-year-old building. the project has many labs and workshops as part of a retrofit and add-ons design, but the main element is a floating steel and glass structure within the existing fabric. the program includes a center for interaction, design, and technology, a computer gaming lab, plastic workshop and 3D printing lab, all accommodated within a 1920’s building. 

the center includes interaction, design, technology area, computer gaming lab, plastic workshop and 3D printing lab
image © lior avitan 

shenkar college organized an architectural competition to propose a solution for the building that contains the department of plastics. the winning proposal was from architectural office geotectura that by looking at the existing fabric and its heritage, suggested a retrofit, rather than replacing the old structure with a new building. research into the ramat gan city archive revealed that the site was part of goldberg’s orange orchard, established during the 1920’s. the wooden roof structure, exposed from the inside, together with the thin silicate bricks in the walls give the building a unique appearance that should be preserved for aesthetic reasons, as well as for its historical value.

construction process video
video courtesy of geotectura

a conscious decision was made that the history should be the main initiator of all the design intervention. the past would be reflected in every corner, even when it was combined with a new design. on one of the interior walls, the design team put a printed image that was taken from the very same spot almost 100 years ago, as a reminder of the legacy that this place contains. 

geotectura suggested a retrofit, rather than replacing the old structure with a new building
image © lior avitan

the first step to preservation, conservation, and re-use of a building that has a historical architectural value is to create a comprehensive survey of its existing condition, as well as a reference of its historical record. digital methods in documenting cultural heritage sites are the latest endeavor both in the field of architecture and survey. the desire to respect the existing interior envelope of the main space, led to a design intervention that was offset of all interior surfaces. one of the results was a INP300 steel beams and glass walls that shaped a floating gallery without touching or damaging the original and fragile silicate walls and using materials that can be recycled in the future. 

the wooden roof structure, together with the silicate bricks give the building its unique and preserved appearance 
image © lior avitan

a conscious decision was made that the history should be the main initiator of all the design intervention
image © lior avitan

the new structure respects the old building
image © lior avitan

the past is reflected in every corner, even when combined with the new design
image © lior avitan

the site was part of goldberg’s orange orchard, established during the 1920’s
image © krinizi archive

the steel structure floats inside the old building
image © geotectura

the new structure doesn’t touch or damage the original and fragile silicate walls
image © geotectura 

the materials used in the gallery construction can be recycled in the future
image © geotectura 

the point cloud helped showed the distribution and heights of the existing workshop machinery inside the building
image © geotectura

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom