by Nancy Shekter-Porat

profile: Orna Levy-Osenger
age: 35
born: Tel Aviv, Israel
education: Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa

Sitting in a popular cafe outside Jerusalem, Orna Levy-Osengar is greeted warmly by a client who pops by her table to say hello. From the animated way that the two women chat about the new home Levy-Osengar designed it is clear that she is more than just a paid professional to her client, and she admits that she often befriends the the people she works for.

"If I like to go back and visit a house I've designed," says Levy-Osengar, "it's a sign that it was a success." Levy-Osengar's homes have clean, simple lines. Her designs reflect a harmony between the interior and exterior space, take the local climatic conditions and the elements of shade into account, and last but far from least are especially suited to the individual needs of her clients. Dikla Simsolo from Moshav Shoresh said, "Having a woman design our home was an advantage as she understands the functions and needs."

Before enrolling in the Technion's School of Architecture, Levy-Osengar took a year off after her two-year army service. "I was debating between medicine and architecture as a career and now I know that I made the right decision. Architecture," she says with a smile, "is art with a practical side."

In Levy-Osengar's view women architects have an edge: "A house needs to work and this is something beyond just technical skills, where a woman's sensitivity can be an asset." But she notes that being a woman wasn't always a plus. "When I started out I had two strikes against me, being both young and a woman," she explains. "It took time for people to see me as a professional. Today I experience less discrimination. While some of the men I work with still have a problem relating to me at first, the strain in our relations quickly comes to an end when they realize my worth."

Israeli clients today are very definite, if sometimes unrealistic, about what they are looking for. Levy-Osengar says, "People have dreams and they know what they want in their homes. Often they dream of a mansion crammed into one small house. They want to put all their dreams inside and this can cause disharmony. A good architect will help them realize their dreams within architectural constraints."

"Changes within Israel are reflected in residential building styles," Levy-Osengar claims. "In the last seven years the standard of living in Israel has jumped and local product designs have been improved. There is a greater awareness of design and more people are reading architectural magazines, but on the down side, these magazines all show the same designs and everyone wants to imitate them."

Levy-Osengar, together with her husband, who is also an architect and her business partner, works in a studio in their home in a Tel Aviv suburb of Tzahala.