Apart from being a place of serious study for some 27,000 students, the Tel Aviv University campus is also a unique open-air museum of modern architecture.
By Simon Griver
Tel Aviv University campus reflects a wide range of historical styles, from the minimalist functionalism of Bauhaus, to the massive concrete building of the 1970s and contemporary post-modernism - all integrated in an attractively landscaped urban setting. Included in this broad assortment of designs is the the Faculty of Law, a minimalist structure built ten years before the establishment of the university in 1963; the George Wise Senate Building, a neo-modernist synthesis of styles; and the large warehouse-shaped Diaspora Museum, which tells the story of the 2000-year Jewish exile. But few would dispute that the most striking
building on the campus is the Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center.
Designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta and completed in 1998, the Cymbalista Synagogue is a unique work of architecture and interior design, and arguably one of the most beautiful synagogues in the country. Paule Rakower, a Tel Aviv tour guide who specializes in the Tel Aviv University campus, explains: "Mario Botta - one of the world's leading architects - was commissioned to design the synagogue in 1995. He was deeply influenced by the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (in November 1995) and wanted to help
reduce the rift between the religious and secular Jewish communities in Israel."
The synagogue's conspicuous twin towers, one of which houses an orthodox synagogue and the other an auditorium, were built to reflect this goal. Regular orthodox services are held in the eastern section, while the auditorium is used for discussions between religious and secular Israelis. The cylindrical towers, which gradually evolve from a rectangular base, were designed with the aid of computer-graphics. In addition to their practical use, the twin towers also symbolize the two parts of the Torah scroll as well as the crematoria chimneys of the Nazi death camps.
The only other building on campus which was not designed by an Israeli architect is the Building for Mechanical Engineering. Designed by American architect Louis Kahn and completed in 1980, the building uses large functionalist concrete slabs but also draws from
Middle Eastern and Jewish styles with arched windows, for example.
"Architecture in Israel is very individualistic," observes Ruth Ben-Shaul, one of the country's leading architects. "Neighboring buildings do not always blend very well. But Tel Aviv University campus is a rare example of an integrated urban complex brought together by
the generous use of space and the attractive way it has been landscaped."