paritzki liani architects pays an homage to marc chagall with tel aviv school

paritzki liani architects pays an homage to marc chagall with tel aviv school
images © amit geron

paying homage to marc chagall’s masterpiece ‘over the town‘ (1918), paritzki & liani architects have created ‘the new french school’, located in the neighborhood of neve tzedek in tel aviv. the layout follows the building logic of a school as a microcosm of the city: classrooms were designed as micro-flats and the main volumes mimic small houses of a mediterranean town, joined in their common spaces by passages, small squares and unexpected gardens. the project’s approach was to put the focus on the students’ own process of exploration and knowledge of the world.

view of the façade during sunset
image © amit geron

the façades containing the references to marc chagall’s masterpiece, are composed of 30 optical panels of aluminum of different measures. these were created to represent the painting using a 3D pixel system called ombrae that transforms the colors of the image in many small shadows, making the images almost like a hologram. this creates an optical weave that changes according to the point of view of the observer or the different diffusion of artificial light during night.

like in a dream, where different plots mix and support each other, the figures of ‘over the town‘ (1918) appear on the façade in front of shluss street in tel aviv. the image changes according to the viewing angle, depending on how close or far away someone is standing in relation to the building. the façade underlines chagall’s idea of the city passed by figures, animals and objects floating in the air against the laws of time and gravity.

different façade perceptions depending on the light and position
image © amit geron

a contrasted image of the façade viewed from a close distance
image © amit geron

over the town, marc chagall, 1918.

the main volume was built around a patio or open court that’s faced by the classrooms and a set of suspended stairs. around this petit-jardin, which is the eccentric focus of the paths of the building, two stairways grow on the sides creating a double staircase which ends at the upper floor in a new open space that serves as a meeting point for the students.

classroom with a view to the inside patio
image © amit geron

the suspended stairs also serve as a playground for kids
image © amit geron

the main feature of these stairs is to follow the path in a double and asymmetric way
image © amit geron

on the white wall along the west façade there are some very thin glass panels with pure colors, not blended: light blue, orange, red, yellow, blue. these fragments of colored lights are united to the floor through thin steel cables which support climbing plants.

colored panels along the school’s west façade

steel cables support climbing plants slowly rising from the ground towards the roof 

view of the west façade

site plan

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