Zvi Hecker
Encyclopedia
Zvi Hecker (1931 - ) is a Polish-born Israel
i architect
. His work is known for its emphasis on geometry and asymmetry.
, Poland. He grew up in Poland and Samarkand
. He began his education in architecture at the Cracow University of Technology
. He immigrated to Israel in 1950. There he studied architecture at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
, graduating in 1955. At the Technion, Eldar Sharon was a classmate, and Alfred Neumann was their professor. Between 1955 and 1957, he studied painting
at the Avni Institute of Art and Design
, before beginning his career as an architect. Between 1957 and 1959, Hecker served in the Combat Engineering Corps of the Israel Defense Forces
.
in Achzib
(1960–1961), Dubiner House (1963), the Chaim Laskov
Officer Training School (1963–1967) Bahad 1, the main officer training school of the Israel Defense Forces, just later the synagogue
(1969–1971) at the same academy, and the Bat Yam city hall
(1963–1969). Their designs shared aspects in common with the metabolist movement
, borrowing metaphor
ic shapes from nature for use in planning morphological structures. The modularity
of these works, such as the Dubiner House, provided an architectural precedent for the Habitat 67 project by Moshe Safdie
.
Hecker resides in Berlin and Tel Aviv. He has been involved in planning projects for the German Jewish community as well as other international projects.
Hecker taught in Canada, the United States, Israel, and Austria at the Université Laval
, University of Texas at Arlington
, Washington University in St. Louis
, Iowa State University
, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and the University of Applied Arts Vienna
. Zvi Hecker writes about his work periodically, co-authoring books with Sir Peter Cook
, John Hejduk
, and others.
The early projects of Zvi Hecker, designed in partnership with Sharon and Neumann, have architectural qualities that were developed later in his career. The officer school (Bahad
1) was built to give a respectable living environment to soldiers in the Negev
desert, and special emphasis was given to the large spaces between the structures, in order to form a micro-environment there, separating the people inside from the harsh desert outskirts. Raw concrete
was chosen because it did not require constant maintenance and renovation in light of the strong sandy winds. About the school, Hecker said: "The location of the base has a special relevance to the vision of David Ben-Gurion
. To build such an important school in a place which isn't the center of the country – in my opinion, that's the positive side of the State of Israel". The academy was supplemented later with a synagogue, whose form was complementary and contrasting. The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture says of the architect's approach to its design, "Eschewing the right angles of international modernism, he turned to crystalline geometry found in nature [...]"
Another of the Zvi Hecker's projects in partnership, the Bat Yam City Hall shows the recurrence of geometrical invention that exists throughout his work. One architectural significance of the Bat Yam City Hall- its formal concept, is that it is an inverted pyramid
. It is linked to other works of architecture such as Boston City Hall
through this form, in addition to their program, similar materials, and time period. The building is patterned on a diagonal grid with concrete, which provides both its structure and aesthetics. The importance of this building was recognized in 1975 with perspective and section illustrations on a postage stamp
in the Architecture in Israel series. As of 2003, Bat Yam City Hall was removed of its signature light shafts, rather than having them renovated. This was because of a perceived structural instability due to weathering over time. Of this removal Dr. Ami Ran wrote, "From an architectural standpoint, removing them is equivalent to dousing the Statue of Liberty's torch."
Among several projects for memorial
s, Zvi Hecker designed the solemn Page Memorial (1996) with Micha Ullmann and Eyal Weizmann. This site-specific memorial commemorates the Jewish community of Kreuzberg
, and their Lindenstrasse synagogue which was designed in 1891 by architects Cremer & Wolffenstein
. What was once one of the largest religious buildings in Berlin, with a capacity of 1800; was ruined by the Nazis in the 1938 Kristallnacht
pogrom
. On the original floor plan, the benches of the synagogue were recreated in concrete, and where the bimah
stood, trees are now planted. The designers conceived of the benches as sentences on the pages of the Talmud
.
Zvi Hecker architecture has continued to emphasize geometry
and modularity, but with increasing asymmetry
. Ramot Polin (1972–75) is a rare prefabricated apartment complex with 720 non-rectangular components. The apartments were expanded later, incorporating more cubic rather than pentagonal components. The design idea of this neighborhood may seem to be the more purely geometrical, however it is likened to a chemical structure, and in plan view to an open hand, and a leaf- therefore imparting it with metaphorical qualities. More examples of advanced geometry in Hecker's work are the Spiral Apartment House in Ramat Gan, (1981–1989), and the Heinz-Galinski-Schule (1992–1995) in Berlin, noted for their high degree of complexity. The Heinz-Galinski-Schule won Zvi Hecker the Deutscher Kritikerpreis in 1995- it was stated that the decision of the jury was based on their appreciation of the "expressive geometry of his construction." The Spiral Apartment House is located adjacent to his earlier Dubiner house, providing a juxtaposition of two important moments in his career. The work of Zvi Hecker has been compared to that of Antonio Gaudi, for expressiveness and expanding of architectural ideas.
More of his later works are the Jewish community center in Duisburg
(1996–1999), and with Rafi Segal, the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv
(1995–2000). The Duisburg Jewish community center is located on a park, the Garten der Erinnerung designed by Dani Karavan
. The community center shares a similar concept to the Page Memorial in its likening to the open pages of a book, and symbolically the Torah
of Moses. The Palmach Museum has an angular zig-zag plan positioned around the preservation of trees on the site. It is clad in a local sandstone that was found in excavations for the project. It was exhibited at the Venice Biennale
.
in 1976. He had solo exhibitions at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
in the 1980s and in 1996. He also took part in the Jewish Identity in Contemporary Architecture at the Jewish Museum Berlin
in 2005, and has participated in the Venice Biennale
on a number of occasions.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i architect
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
. His work is known for its emphasis on geometry and asymmetry.
Biography
Zvi Hecker was born on May 31, 1931 in KrakowKraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Poland. He grew up in Poland and Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
. He began his education in architecture at the Cracow University of Technology
Cracow University of Technology
Tadeusz Kościuszko University of Technology is a university located in downtown Kraków, Poland, established in 1946 and, as an institution of higher learning granted full autonomy in 1954....
. He immigrated to Israel in 1950. There he studied architecture at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a research-intensive institute of technology in Haifa, Israel. Originally called the Technikum, it was founded in 1912...
, graduating in 1955. At the Technion, Eldar Sharon was a classmate, and Alfred Neumann was their professor. Between 1955 and 1957, he studied painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
at the Avni Institute of Art and Design
Avni Institute of Art and Design
The Avni Institute of Art and Design is an Israeli art school located in Tel Aviv. The institute is known for teaching and employing many well known Israeli artists and designers....
, before beginning his career as an architect. Between 1957 and 1959, Hecker served in the Combat Engineering Corps of the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
.
Architectural career
After his military service, he founded a firm with Eldar Sharon (until 1964) and Alfred Neumann (until 1966). The physical and economic conditions in Israel at the time, allowed them to complete a fair number of works in a relatively brief period of time, which brought international attention. Their joint works include the Mediterranean Sea ClubClub Med
Club Méditerranée , commonly known as Club Med, is a French corporation of vacation resorts found in many parts of the world, usually in exotic locations. It is considered the original all-inclusive resort.-Foundation:...
in Achzib
Achzib
Achziv is an archaeological site on the northern coast of Israel, 15 kilometers north of Acco. It was first settled in the Middle Canaanite II period by the Phoenicians. In the Bible, it is described as falling within territory assigned to the tribe of Asher. An Arab village, Az-Zeeb, was...
(1960–1961), Dubiner House (1963), the Chaim Laskov
Chaim Laskov
Haim Laskov was an Israeli public figure and the fifth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.-Early life:...
Officer Training School (1963–1967) Bahad 1, the main officer training school of the Israel Defense Forces, just later the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
(1969–1971) at the same academy, and the Bat Yam city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
(1963–1969). Their designs shared aspects in common with the metabolist movement
Metabolist Movement
In the late 1950s a small group of young Japanese architects and designers joined forces under the title of "Metabolism". Their visions for cities of the future inhabited by a mass society were characterized by large scale, flexible, and expandable structures that evoked the processes of organic...
, borrowing metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
ic shapes from nature for use in planning morphological structures. The modularity
Modularity
Modularity is a general systems concept, typically defined as a continuum describing the degree to which a system’s components may be separated and recombined. It refers to both the tightness of coupling between components, and the degree to which the “rules” of the system architecture enable the...
of these works, such as the Dubiner House, provided an architectural precedent for the Habitat 67 project by Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
.
Hecker resides in Berlin and Tel Aviv. He has been involved in planning projects for the German Jewish community as well as other international projects.
Academic career
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
, University of Texas at Arlington
University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a public research university located in Arlington, Texas, United States. The campus is situated southwest of downtown Arlington, and is located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. The university was founded in 1895 and served primarily a military...
, Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and the University of Applied Arts Vienna
University of Applied Arts Vienna
The University of Applied Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It has had university status since 1970.-History:...
. Zvi Hecker writes about his work periodically, co-authoring books with Sir Peter Cook
Peter Cook (architect)
Professor Sir Peter Cook, founder of Archigram , former Director the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London and the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London, has been a pivotal figure within the global architectural world for over half a century. His ongoing contribution to...
, John Hejduk
John Hejduk
John Quentin Hejduk , was an American architect, artist and educator who spent much of his life in New York City, USA...
, and others.
Projects
Bahad
Bahad is a military training base in the Israel Defense Forces. Each Bahad deals with a certain field, such as law enforcement or logistics. Generally, each Bahad belongs to a certain corps and conducts all courses required by the corps in question...
1) was built to give a respectable living environment to soldiers in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
desert, and special emphasis was given to the large spaces between the structures, in order to form a micro-environment there, separating the people inside from the harsh desert outskirts. Raw concrete
Béton brut
Béton brut is architectural concrete left unfinished or roughly-finished after pouring and left exposed visually. The imprint of the wood or plywood forms used for pouring is usually present on the final surface....
was chosen because it did not require constant maintenance and renovation in light of the strong sandy winds. About the school, Hecker said: "The location of the base has a special relevance to the vision of David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
. To build such an important school in a place which isn't the center of the country – in my opinion, that's the positive side of the State of Israel". The academy was supplemented later with a synagogue, whose form was complementary and contrasting. The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture says of the architect's approach to its design, "Eschewing the right angles of international modernism, he turned to crystalline geometry found in nature [...]"
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
. It is linked to other works of architecture such as Boston City Hall
Boston City Hall
Boston City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of Boston, Massachusetts. Architecturally, it is an example of the brutalist style. It was designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles...
through this form, in addition to their program, similar materials, and time period. The building is patterned on a diagonal grid with concrete, which provides both its structure and aesthetics. The importance of this building was recognized in 1975 with perspective and section illustrations on a postage stamp
Postage stamps and postal history of Israel
The postage stamps and postal history of Israel is a survey of the postage stamps issued by the state of Israel, and its postal history, since independence was proclaimed on May 14, 1948. The first postage stamps were issued two days later on May 16, 1948...
in the Architecture in Israel series. As of 2003, Bat Yam City Hall was removed of its signature light shafts, rather than having them renovated. This was because of a perceived structural instability due to weathering over time. Of this removal Dr. Ami Ran wrote, "From an architectural standpoint, removing them is equivalent to dousing the Statue of Liberty's torch."
Among several projects for memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
s, Zvi Hecker designed the solemn Page Memorial (1996) with Micha Ullmann and Eyal Weizmann. This site-specific memorial commemorates the Jewish community of Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
, and their Lindenstrasse synagogue which was designed in 1891 by architects Cremer & Wolffenstein
Cremer & Wolffenstein
The Cremer & Wolffenstein architecture firm was founded in 1882 by Richard Wolffenstein and Wilhelm Cremer and existed up to the death of its two founders. During the so-called Gründerzeit in Berlin, the years of rapid industrial expansion in Germany at the end of 19th century, they were a...
. What was once one of the largest religious buildings in Berlin, with a capacity of 1800; was ruined by the Nazis in the 1938 Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
. On the original floor plan, the benches of the synagogue were recreated in concrete, and where the bimah
Bimah
A bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...
stood, trees are now planted. The designers conceived of the benches as sentences on the pages of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
.
Architectural style
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
and modularity, but with increasing asymmetry
Asymmetry
Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry.-In organisms:Due to how cells divide in organisms, asymmetry in organisms is fairly usual in at least one dimension, with biological symmetry also being common in at least one dimension....
. Ramot Polin (1972–75) is a rare prefabricated apartment complex with 720 non-rectangular components. The apartments were expanded later, incorporating more cubic rather than pentagonal components. The design idea of this neighborhood may seem to be the more purely geometrical, however it is likened to a chemical structure, and in plan view to an open hand, and a leaf- therefore imparting it with metaphorical qualities. More examples of advanced geometry in Hecker's work are the Spiral Apartment House in Ramat Gan, (1981–1989), and the Heinz-Galinski-Schule (1992–1995) in Berlin, noted for their high degree of complexity. The Heinz-Galinski-Schule won Zvi Hecker the Deutscher Kritikerpreis in 1995- it was stated that the decision of the jury was based on their appreciation of the "expressive geometry of his construction." The Spiral Apartment House is located adjacent to his earlier Dubiner house, providing a juxtaposition of two important moments in his career. The work of Zvi Hecker has been compared to that of Antonio Gaudi, for expressiveness and expanding of architectural ideas.
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
(1996–1999), and with Rafi Segal, the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
(1995–2000). The Duisburg Jewish community center is located on a park, the Garten der Erinnerung designed by Dani Karavan
Dani Karavan
Dani Karavan is an Israeli sculptor best known for site specific memorials and monuments which merge into the environment, though he has made important installations as well as other significant contributions to art and architecture.- Biography :Dani Karavan's father Abraham was the chief...
. The community center shares a similar concept to the Page Memorial in its likening to the open pages of a book, and symbolically the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
of Moses. The Palmach Museum has an angular zig-zag plan positioned around the preservation of trees on the site. It is clad in a local sandstone that was found in excavations for the project. It was exhibited at the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
.
Museum exhibits
Hecker was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Israel MuseumIsrael Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
in 1976. He had solo exhibitions at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was established in 1932 in a building that was the home of Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art opened in 1959. The museum moved to its current location on King Saul Avenue in...
in the 1980s and in 1996. He also took part in the Jewish Identity in Contemporary Architecture at the Jewish Museum Berlin
Jewish Museum Berlin
The Jewish Museum Berlin , in Berlin, Germany, covers two millennia of German Jewish history. It consists of two buildings. One is the old Kollegienhaus, a former courthouse, built in the 18th century. The other, a new addition specifically built for the museum, designed by world-renowned architect...
in 2005, and has participated in the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
on a number of occasions.