08-06-2018
Mount Herzl Memorial Hall, an aluminium brick building by Kimmel Eshkolot Architects

The outer dome has a very simple concrete structure, only 30 cm thick. It is covered with stone bricks laid by the traditional method, which, in order to generate a stepped chiaroscuro effect, alternate with ashlars 17 cm thick and 10cm risers. The inner dome, on the contrary, is self-supporting, composed of aluminium bricks extruded using CNC technology and joined together with steel bolts. The entire construction rests on a ring-shaped base, rising about 12 metres above it, adding to the place’s mystic impact.
The technology was developed with a team of researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH in Zurich, then made and installed error-free. Though the building fits into a mountain, it manages to produce an unexpected sensation of transport to a higher level.
Fabrizio Orsini
Architecture Kimmel Eshkolot Architects (in collaboration with Kalush Chechick Architects) Architects in charge: Etan Kimmel, Limor Amrani
Client: Ministry of Defence – families and Commemoration Department
Structural engineering: Haim & Yehiel Steinberg Structural Engineering
Construction manager: E.D. Rahat Engineering Coordination and Management Ltd. Eliezer Rahat, Daniel Rahat
Design phase Manager and coordinator: Eran Garber E.S.L Engineers
Light Bell optimization R/O/B Technologies - ETH IDF Merkava and Armored Vehicles Directorate
Lighting Design: Amir Brenner Lighting Design 3
D Molds manufacturer: XENOM
Photographer: Amit Geron