Prof. Senan Abdelqader is a practicing architect and urban planner, founder and owner of Senan Architects (SA), which he established in 1995 in Herzeliya, in Jerusalem in 2004, and in 2014 in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Through working on numerous private projects and other public ones, that try to influence and are influenced by social and political variables, Senan has created a public platform where the process of planning is considered to be a collective act and a space for civil practices.
During his practice in SA, Senan started teaching at Tel-Aviv University in 1998; he then founded the “in-formal” research unit in Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in 2006, giving the possibility to architecture students to critically experiment a space where formality and informality are tangled
Senan has participated in various local and international architectural Biennales and exhibitions, among which, the São Paulo Biennale in Brazil in 2007 where he published his book “Architecture of (in)Dependency”, in which he introduces the possibility of transforming the rural life that the Palestinians live, into a contemporary urban life.
In 2018 he established the Institute for the Study of Arab Culture in Visual Arts, Design and Architecture at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.
An Architect in practice and in academia with vast knowledge and experience in Architecture and Urban Design.
Noa has been a lecturer for over a decade in the Architecture department and is also currently the academic coordinator of the master’s degree in Urban Design. She was in charged of “Tempus” program, a European program for higher education.
Noa holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from the "de la ville et des territoires" school in Paris, which was then followed by several years of international practice experience both in France and New-York. Abroad Noa has worked on a variety of scales, from the MDU – Mobile Dwelling Unit, which was exhibited in the Whitney museum in NY, to a large public realm in the French city of Rennes. Back in Israel, Noa has worked on some of Israel’s most significant regeneration projects, such as central Netanya and the new development of North-West Tel Aviv.
Since 2010 Noa has her own practice and is also a senior consultant to the Jerusalem Planning Authority overseeing some of their major projects such as the new Entrance to Jerusalem Masterplan.
Tamar Berger, Senior Lecturer, The Department of Architecture, the Urban Design Master's Degree Program, Oman - the Heredi Extension and the Visual & Material Culture Department. Teaches and writes on issues of space, space and culture, urbanity and modernity in general in the Israel context. Her books: "Dionysus at Dizengof Centre" (Hakibbutz Hameuchad), "Issues in the Theory of Space" (The Open University), "In the Space Between World and Toy" (Resling) and "Autotopia" (Hakibbutz Hameuchad). More articles, essays and travelogues at www.tamarberger.com.
Prof. Dr. Zvi Efrat, Architect and Architectural Historian, is partner at Efrat-Kowalsky Architects (EKA) and was Head of the Department of Architecture at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem (2002-2010). He holds B.Arch. from Pratt Institute, MA. In Cinema Studies from NYU and PhD. In Architectural History and Theory from Princeton University. He has taught and lectured worldwide, published extensively and curated numerous exhibitions.
His book, The Israeli Project: Building and Architecture 1948-1973, was published in Hebrew in 2004 by the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. His book The Object of Zionism, The Architecture of Israel was published by Spector Books, Leipzig, in 2018.
Among the recent projects of Efrat-Kowalsky Architects (EKA): Performing Arts Campus in Jerusalem: The Israel Museum in Jerusalem (renewal and expansion); City Museum of Tel Aviv (preservation and new additions): The Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art; The Holocaust Museum in Thessaloniki, Greece.
צבי אפרת - עבודה
Erez Ella was born in Jerusalem in 1971 and studied Architecture at the Tel Aviv University and the TU Delft in the Netherlands.
Erez founded HQ architects in Tel Aviv in 2008 after spending several years as an Associate at OMA, Rotterdam, and as Principal at REX, NY.
From Tel Aviv, Erez leads HQ Architects’ design work of more than 35 architects, executing projects in Israel and around the globe, various in scale and program. HQ Architects exhibit an expanding portfolio of work, including public spaces and urban infrastructure, a wide range of cultural and educational projects as well as offices, hotels and retail projects.
Recently, the practice’s ability to rethink and challenge conventions led it to be part of US-Israeli team for NASA challenge “Habitat on Mars” - a challenge to
establish a 3D printed habitat for future astronauts on Mars.
Erez’s involvement extends beyond the world of architectural design. He co- curated the Israeli Pavilion at the 2012 Venice Biennial of Architecture, and isthe co-editor in chief of the architectural book titled “Aircraft Carrier - American Ideas and Israeli Architectures after 1973” (Hajte Cantz, 2012).
In 2011, Erez established the ‘Mechanism of Design and Urbanism’ research unit at the Bezalel School of Architecture. Today he is leading and mentoring the 5th year students' graduation projects.
He is also a member of the ‘Jerusalem Season of Culture’ board of directors since 2012
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Sa'ar holds a BA in Architecture from Bezalel, who graduated with honors and a Master's degree in Urban Design.
He is the founder of an architectural firm called SGLarchitecture.
The firm SGLarchitecture was founded by Sa'ar in 2014 and since then has been involved in projects ranging from villas, residential, Tama 38, public buildings, commerce and offices and specializes in urban planning and urban renewal.
The firm aims to initiate a new perspective and ways of looking at the space in which we live.
Sa'ar is the head of the interior design program in Bezalel and a lecturer at the academy's Architecture Department for many years.
Erez Golani Solomon is currently a Senior Lecturer in Architectural Design and Theory at the Architecture Department and the Graduate Program in Urban Design of Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem. He earned his Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Tokyo in 2006, and he is since involved in teaching and research projects in Japan, at the Graduate School of Media and Governance of Keio University, the Graduate Program of Global Studies of Sophia University, as well as Waseda University. His research work encompasses a range of issues concerning the contemporary city, and the ramifications of architectural developments under contemporary cultures and politics. Erez practices architecture as partner at the Tokyo based firm Front-Office. In 2020 and 2021 he held a Senior Research Fellow position at the Azrieli Architecture Archive of Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
Elissa Rosenberg is a landscape architect and associate professor in the Graduate Program in Urban Design, and also an associate professor (emerita) at the University of Virginia, where she taught from 1989 – 2007 and served as Chair of the Landscape Architecture Department. Since relocating to Israel, she has taught at the Technion and Tel Aviv University. Her teaching and research focus on landscape as a cultural practice and a model for contemporary urbanism, tying together the separate discourses of urbanism, ecology and landscape design. She teaches studios and courses on urban landscapes and post-industrial landscapes in the undergraduate and graduate programs. Her research lies at the intersection of contemporary landscape architecture and urban design with a focus on cultural landscapes, post-industrial landscapes, green infrastructure and mobility. Her recent publications have focused on Israeli landscapes, include Tel Aviv’s seaside urbanism, and the kibbutz as a laboratory for Israeli landscape modernism.
Architect, educator, author and editor, co-founder of Babel press.
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A registered architect who specializes in Historic Preservation. She is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Department of Architecture, in the Urban Design Master's Degree Program, and in the Department of Visual and Material Culture. Adi serves as Bezalel Project Coordinator for EDICULA - Educational Digital Innovative Cultural heritage related Learning Activities (Erasmus+ Project). Adi received her B.Arch from the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. She holds a Diploma in Conservation of the Built Heritage from the Faculty of Arts, Tel Aviv University and Master of Art in Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies from Rutgers University, N.J. Currently she is a PhD candidate at Sapienza University of Rome. She received the Bezalel Commendation for excellence in teaching (2021-22) She specializes in urban heritage, the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, ethics in conservation, documentation, evaluation, and conservation consultation. She is the conservation consultant for the Reginal Planning Unit at the Israel Planning Administration, the Southern Region Planning Committee, and for Holon Municipality. She was the Conservation Policy Coordinator for the Israel Antiquities Authority. Adi is the Chairperson of the Cultural Routes Scientific Committee, ICOMOS Israel, a voluntarily position.
Michael Turner, born in the UK, is a practicing architect, professor, and UNESCO Chairholder in Urban Design and Conservation Studies. He has been involved with urban and environmental issues in Israel since establishing the first Municipal Unit in 1974 in Jerusalem.
Turner has been involved with master plans for the Old City of Jerusalem and Bnei Berak and conservation designs for sites as Apollonia, Montfort and Shuni. His recent European research activities include the management of pre-historic sites; the Divided Cities of Jerusalem and Berlin and a tri-national Partnership for Peace offering mechanisms for shared heritage and sustainable peace. Other projects have included Designing Safer Urban Spaces, managing the Bologna Protocol in Israel and currently part of a Marie-Curie doctoral consortium on Heritage. He was an initiator of the National Archive for Art, Architecture and Design and continues to be involved.
Serving on many international professional-academic bodies he has contributed many articles and presentations to academic fora and professional meetings all over the world. He chaired the Israel World Heritage Committee from its inception in 1999 till 2011, and with two decades of contribution to UNESCO, he was elected to the World Heritage Committee in 2005 and during 2007-2008 served as its vice-President. He has accompanied the debate on Historic Urban Landscapes and is special advisor to the World Heritage Centre Director providing international assistance in the fields of urban design and conservation.
Prof. Els Verbakel is a founding partner of Derman Verbakel Architecture and Head of the School of Architecture at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem. She was a faculty member at the Technion in Haifa, Columbia University, NYC, Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and Princeton University, New Jersey. Els has earned her PhD in Architecture from Princeton University, a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University, and a Graduate Degree in Civil Engineering and Architecture from the University of Leuven, Belgium. She served as the editor of two books: “In Search of the Public. Notes on the Contemporary American City” and “Constellations: Constructing Urban Design Practices” as well as the Architectural Design (AD) Magazine on the theme “Cities of Dispersal.”