95 / 96
2017
נובמבר
111
אדריכלות ישראלית
|
- קטגורית לא-בנויים
2017
פרויקט השנה
95
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editorial
Following the 108 editorial, in which I “swore" that the new road to Jerusalem was planned
by a first year student, since on some curves the slopes are reversed and a sure recipe
for suicide, a veteran subscriber called to say that “even if we were right, we shouldn’t put
Israel down in front of the gentiles”. I gently explained to him that no one pays attention to
affairs of life and death since, anyway, we are all preoccupied with “there will be nothing,
since there is nothing”.
But, feeling overly critical, I decided to leave Israel alone and write only about things that
trouble the gentiles, and anyone who criticizes our wonderful country can go commit suicide
on the reversed curves of Road One.
I turned to God on Google asking him what bothers people in other countries, and this is
what they say:
“People who stick to your ass on Road One; people
who block the left lane because in any case you can
only drive 110; stepping on dog poo revolted owners
didn’t clean up because no one saw; computers
that decide to update just before you press SAVE; a
telephone call just as you’re about to finish… typing
a long sms with one finger; people shouting on their
mobiles to overcome the noise of kids yelling at their
parents; crumpled papers coming out of the washing
machine, you’ll never know what was on them; people
who push in, convinced it’s okay provided they pretend
to look in the other direction; toilets where you have
to climb onto the seat to close the door; public toilets
where every “hiccough” must be quietened with a
flush so that whoever is washing his hands won’t think
you’re the only person who hiccoughs in public; noisy,
peeping neighbors; flies and mosquitoes that always,
but always spoil your moment of peace - it is still not
clear why they were invented; an air conditioner that
breaks down on a Friday summer evening; and people
who shake your hand coming out of the toilet, thinking
that a wee bit of moisture doesn’t matter, since it is
nothing, and nothing it will be”.
Michal, from Kimmel Eshkolot Architects, whose Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl stars further
on in this issue, says I’ve become poetic since their house in Neve Tzedek appeared on
the cover of issue #9. Admittedly, I sometimes tend to be swept away by emotion, though
I always insist on searching for the rationale behind the building. However, you will agree
that it’s really difficult to avoid repeating yourself in over a thousand articles, when anything
you write may sound as if you’re quoting Le Corbusier, Louis Khan, Mies der Rohe, Frank
Lloyd Wright, or Ami Ran.
111 is my lucky number. We’ve been waiting for this issue for years, always fighting to look
straight into the eyes of reality, imagine it’s as pretty as love, a holiday written in honey,
the silence of autumn leaves, a caressing winter sun ray, or one of Simon and Garfunkel's
addictive Song of Songs.
I thank all the Project of the Year judges, architects: Prof. Juhani Pallasmaa (chair); Ofer
Manor – Jerusalem City Architect; Sharon Neuman; her partner Iftach Hayner; Michal
Aharoni; Oren On; and representative of public taste, Moran Talmor Cohen.
And by the way, I am personally irritated by advertisements where some idiot shouts we
should squeeze the juice out of the oranges… really.
Architect Dr. Ami Ran
gentile song
editorial