Shirly Kujawski Kenett

A proposal for a invited only architectural competition to build a rehabilitative center in the Negev. Our starting point was by envisioning the building as a house then a hospital. For us there are no dissociations between patients, doctors, or visitors – they are all people. The schematic basic organization is like a house with a living room as the entrance lobby and a bed room as hospitalization rooms. Since the plot is near a main highway, with a great view of the desert we designed a building that on one hand acts as a barrier and on the other hand keeps the openness to the distant views. We lifted the built volume up and doing so we received shaded yards that can be seen from the wards and kept the views for the tenants. The main street crosses the whole project as an organization and orientation part. Thus, it divides the project into private and public areas. Another aspect is sustainability and climate – located in the north edge of the Negev desert and characterized with hot dry days and cold nights. We situated the building in such a way that the north façade is much more open and the south façade has minimum openings. Finally, the diagonal section over the main street helps hot air evaporate and cold air go inside.