2023 נובמבר 135 פרופיל העונה - נוימן חיינר אדריכלים אדריכלות ישראלית 31 | | | profile of the season neuman hayner architects - each project and its own story Dr. Hillit Mazor Architect and Industrial Designer Sharon Neuman and Yiftach Hayner have been running Neuman Hayner Architects for the past nine years. Employing 15, the firm has designed private houses, educational buildings, hotels, and dense housing as well as public buildings; most of which are creative projects in which emphasis is placed on contextual and climatic aspects, flexible planning, clarity, and the development of an original narrative. Sharon, how does your extended academic background, connected with Yiftach's experience in leading complex projects help achieving creative results? Sharon: Cliché-like as it may sound, I believe that every architect should have his feet on the ground and his head in the clouds. This is due to the unique connection between technical understanding and general knowledge imbedded in the profession of architecture. In my opinion, a good architect must also be cultured, almost a Renaissance Man, who can do many things but yet, has chosen architecture. Sharon, what is a "cultured architect" in your eyes? one who can draw, play a piano or just an educated person? Sharon: Being able to paint or play piano is great, but less relevant. Being cultured is reflected in a comprehensive multidisciplinary learning curiosity. One that can create deep architecture loaded with sociology, psychology, art, philosophy, technology, and imagination. Stories usually help us understand ourselves. Why do you believe that every project should have a story behind it? The one-time encounter between purpose, place and time is not sufficient? Yiftach: Not every project needs a backup story, but in many cases a coherent narrative provides a firm bedding for function, and even detailing at the private home level, or serves for branding commercial projects, or even to more easily convince the authorities that it enriches the public space. It is not easy to admit, or maybe it is... but, in my critical eye your most creative project is the Virtual Museum at the Dead Sea. Yet I have to ask, why does a virtual museum need to have a built form? An interesting question ... in paraphrase of the Everest climber - maybe just because it's there... In the situation in which there are no physical, budgetary and Master Plan restrictions we still have to attract paying visitors, and we chose to give the imagined "structure" the form of an endless, floating Mobius Loop which frames the scenic context. Sharon, you have had your own prosperous office, what actually made you close it and connect to Yiftach? Indeed, until the (admittedly successful) connection with Yiftach I ran my own office for 18 years, in which I planned mainly private villas. I still like to plan private homes, but my dream was to plan public buildings, where added value is given to a wide spectrum of people. It fascinates me. Yiftach came from an office in which he was responsible for large and impressive projects, and our connection was synergistic. Breaking into the field of public projects was not easy, but today we enjoy the fruits. To which sort of buildings do you refer when saying "public projects"? Honesty, to all kinds. But if you insist, then something like the virtual museum we designed at the Dead Sea. It is well known that every architectural firm aspires at a certain point in its development to position itself as the designer of a big name project ... but if everyone would plan museums, who will plan homes that are worth living in, computers? Yiftach: Although the computer today offers great and complex tools, one must not forget that those who manipulate them for better or worse are architects. Our planning process, in every project, always begins with a detailed programmatic questionnaire that we write before designing. And if you read the programs with sensitivity, you can find uniqueness in each of them. It is no secret that, as different people are different, reality also changes, and with it, physical forms, budgets, and circumstances. This is exactly what brings us back to the narrative issue... Can you give an example of an interesting story that contributed to the quality of the project. …Yes, we prepared one just in case... the Adraba Educational Visitor Center in Lod, a project we won in an "invitee"competition. The center deals with Jewish thought beyond its historical relevance. There we concentrated on modern tools suitable to the reality in which we live, emphasizing the importance of democratic space that invites people to delve into historical knowledge that has not frozen in time. The building includes public spaces organized hierarchically, through the symbolic light
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgzNzA=