The Tel Aviv Museum of Art

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, which was founded in 1932 and exhibits the world’s largest collection of Israeli Art, introduced a competition for a new building in 2002. This building should be 19000m2 and is also called the Herta and Paul Amir Buildings. From the distance is seems like a flat and long complex, but a view from above reveals its triangular shape. It was architect Preston Scott Cohen who came up with the plan for this concrete building. 430 differently shaped cement panels form the exterior surface. This faceted coat with its intersecting lines and its grey /white color allows on the one hand a harmonic picture within the landscape and sky, but on the other hand it appears almost contrasting as well.

A welcoming bright entrance and a pair of long escalators take us into the labyrinth-like interior, where long corridors with wooden ceilings are waiting. The corridors turn out to be the regularly-shaped big “white boxes” where the Israeli art decorates the walls. One side of the boxes is always open, and that is the side towards the center of the building where the vertical Lightfall allows to light up the museum with natural light all the way down to the lower level giving orientation to the visitors and creating a unique fusion of all rooms. Following such light it feels like spiraling your way up and down the 5 levels (2 below, 3 above) due to the angularly positioned, arrow-slit-like open sides towards the Lightfall.

The multilayered complex appears rather plain in color, just the red covered seats inside a big aula set highlights and contrast, besides the artwork itself of course.