אדריכלות ישראלית

Architecture of Israel #

119

November

2019

Architectural Offices 2 - continued article

page

english readers

Ami Ran

food for labor

from the large drawing board

to the small laptop

Computerized planning, which put an end to the need for huge drawing-boards, has significantly

reduced architects’ office space, irrespective of the scope or nature of the projects. As a result,

the individual computer stand, as opposed to working in a group, has created a social vacuum

requiring compensatory seating corners, common dining rooms, leisure activities and even

gyms in the new architectural office.

In this context, many architects tend to call their modern offices “studios”, a romantic name

which originally meant “an artist’s working place, where he conducted a slow process of

learning the subject, usually in the company of several artists who enriched each other both

professionally and socially.

In our previous issue on the subject, we attempted to answer the question of how this affects

the organization of the new offices, most of which adopt a home-like characteristic, impacting

the nature of the projects and the architectural profession.

Since a prominent characteristic of the phenomenon constitutes a sharp transition from the

emotional to the rational due to the need to produce more in a shorter time, there is a notable

transition to industrial efficiency

at the expense of manual labor –

something that might be tiring, but is

filled with satisfaction, romance and

individual pride.

The success of the article and a

request for “more” from architects

as well as readers, brought about a

second article, in which we focus on

seven more architects offices – each

accompanied by a selected project

(or two) to illustrate its nature.