Location: 3 Ehud St.Jerusalem
completion date : 1995
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The house we renovated was one of the most beautiful stone houses in a typical Jerusalem neighborhood.

In order to preserve an existing historical environment or a building, conditions must be created that will assure its continuous life.
Therefore, the key question in re-planning and rehabilitating the house was, what design patterns will create a real dialogue between that house, with its historical-cultural value, which I wanted to preserve, and the new and comfortable living conditions I wanted to provide.

The existing house was detached from the open areas adjacent to it. The windows were few and there was no access to the garden. The main entrance to the house was exposed to the street, having no protective entrance courtyard. The interior was divided by walls that blocked the inside spaces from the windows and the outside daylight.

In the “new” house, a wall was built at the front, creating an Entrance Courtyard which both separated the house from the street and connected it to it. It is a pattern that repeats itself in all traditional houses in Jerusalem.
Behind the entrance courtyard and clearly visible from the street, is the Main Entrance Door. Behind the door there is an Entrance Hall,forming a transition area from the entrance courtyard to the interior of the house.

The plan of the house designated all the given area for the functional spaces, thus creating a Sequence of Spaces that opened one onto the other, maintaining a visual and movement continuity between the entrance courtyard, the entrance hall, the living room and the main garden at the back. Despite this feeling of continuity between the spaces, each space was clearly defined, having its own physical boundaries, with a distinct Entrance Gatethat forms a threshold between one space and another.
The garden, which was concealed prior to the renovation, became an integral and lively part of the house, as new windows and doors were opened onto it. The sunshine filtering into the house produced a golden light when it hit the yellow painted walls.