| The Zionist pioneers dreamt of draining the swamps and establishing the Jewish State; today many of their grandchildren dream of a home in the suburbs with a two-car garage. Israel's rising standard of living, a growing sense of normality, and an easing of government land policy has enabled many Israelis to pursue their dreams. |
A new generation of Israeli architects is changing the face of Israel as they meet the challenge of providing for the country's contemporary housing needs, and women are at the forefront of this architectural revolution. According to Professor Elinor Barzacchi, Head of Tel Aviv University's School of Architecture, over half the architecture students in Israel today are women. She also notes that, "Being a good architect is not gender-linked but women often have to work harder than men to prove themselves."
Israeli architecture is still in transition after 53 years of statehood, explains architecture historian David Kroyanker. Like the country itself, a multiethnic mosaic, architectural themes and ideas come from around the world and are influenced by global trends. "A wide range of architectural styles can be seen in Israel. Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences can be found alongside Bauhaus motifs. This is natural because we are located here in the middle, between East and West," Kroyanker observes.
Residential architecture in Israel has come a long way from the boxlike cheap housing projects that were thrown together to meet the immediate housing needs of thousands of new immigrants in the 1950s; the innovative but impractical housing projects of the 1970s, such as avant garde architect Zvi Heckler's pentagonal apartment units; and the prestigious but often sterile high-rise condominiums of the 1980s and 1990s.
Owing primarily to a change in the Israel Land Authority's policies, private residential housing has become a growing field for Israeli architects. In the last several years the Authority, which controls over 93% of the country's land, has been leasing property for private homes throughout the country through the government's "Build Your Own Home" projects, thus making single-family homes more affordable on a middle-class income.
The new generation of Israeli architects, represented by the three women professionals profiled below, create modern, distinctive, and beautiful homes, with an eye toward the landscape, the climate, and local building materials, as well as functionality and the client's needs. As women working within the construction industry, a male-dominated field, they have all experienced discrimination against their gender as well as their youth, but with experience they eventually succeeded in asserting their professionalism and have gained the respect they deserve.
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Three women changing the face of Israel
