The Spiral Half-step
Planning Considerations:
A cultural center in the green heart of Kiryat Shmona, at the corner of Jordan and Sprintzek streets. This is an area where an old local population lives together with a young and renewed population. There are various educational institutions and sports halls around the site. The Cultural Center is designed to bring together the diverse population of the community - in a pleasant, green atmosphere that appeals to all age groups. The design includes a lecture hall and performances, a café-bar, a communal community garden, a woodland, an ecological ornamental pool, a community clinic, a library, an open work space with computer stands, a yoga studio and a music center. The design prevents the flow of free lines onto the topography of the site, in order to produce natural movement between the elements. The traffic in the lot is reflected in the paths coming from ‘Renanim’ School, Eucalyptus Grove, Jordan Street, and the main entrance from Sprintzek Street. The inner courtyard produces a continuum bordering the eucalyptus grove with school yards and contributes to the sense of continuity of the green space.
Environmental considerations:
The position of the structure and the formulation of its shape were designed according to the course of the sun on the field and also to the regime of spirits. Due to the inclined angle of the south wall - the southern turning gets shaded during the hot summer months, however - during the cold winter days the sun's rays penetrate to the heart of the building through the screen wall to give natural light. The heat of the sun is stored as a thermal mass in the ceramic tile floor of the building. The winds blowing from the south and west are inhibited by the building that provides protection for the inner courtyard, and the building also provides acoustic protection for the inner garden from the noise of the street. The method of construction and choice of materials was done according to environmental considerations - construction is by light steel construction method by this method the amount of energy and waste produced when building the structure is reduced by tens of percent, and over time is much more energy efficient than conventional method construction. On top of the construction there is an innovative system of sealed screen walls with blinds that prevent unwanted solar radiation and provide high thermal insulation according to values International. On the roof there are solar panels embedded in the landscape since the roof itself is built on a slope facing south. There is also a drainage system and rainwater storage tanks leading to an ecological pool which is purified by a dedicated plant system.
Steal Frame Construction
The Building is constructed with metal frame, It is used in designing and building industrial spaces. Structural steel has a high strength to weight ratio which makes it ideal to use in the construction of large structures such as buildings, warehouses, bridges, factories etc.
Curtain wall facade Detail - The innovative Closed Cavity Facade system (developed for the JTI Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland) was developed as a unique unitized curtain wall system responding to the requirements of European Energy Directives and the Swiss Minergie sustainability rating. The CCF system was researched and developed with Josef Gartner GmbH, during an era of growing scepticism over the future and sustainability of all glass curtain wall systems for offices. The CCF offers a new approach to the double skin facade system and builds upon SOM?s history of developing innovative curtain wall systems and building envelope technologies for decades.