Page 28 - The Architecture of Nadler-Nadler-Bixon-Gil

The planning team of the
Jewish National and University
Library during a preliminary tour
of the site, 1955
‫צוות התכנון של בית הספרים הלאומי‬
‫והאוניברסיטאי בעת סיור מקדים‬
1955 ,‫באתר‬

During the 1950s the firm planned a host of
public buildings across the country’s rural areas and
and periphery, winning a number of prizes in dozens
of competitions: second prize in the competition for a
memorial site in Emek HaYarden in 1950; first prize in
the competition for Josselson-Paradise Student House
in Rehavia, Jerusalem, in 1952 [pp. 306-307] – the same
year future partner Shmuel Bixon joined the practice;
and second place in a competition for the development
of the Nordia neighborhood in Tel Aviv; in 1954 the firm
won first place in a competition for the Egged Office
Building (Israel Transport Cooperative Society Ltd.) in
Tel Aviv [pp. 374-377], and third prize for planning Beer
Sheva’s civic center. Yet the most significant prize of
that decade, awarded at the end of 1955, was for the
Nadlers’ proposal for the Jewish National and University
Library on the Hebrew University campus in Givat Ram,
Jerusalem [pp. 152-161], one of the most important and
prestigious planning competitions held during Israel's
first decade. As not one single proposal was deemed
appropriate enough, the prize committee decided to form
a planning team comprising three groups of architects,
whose proposals gained the judges’ approval. All were
in their 30s and almost all were Technion graduates:
Shulamit and Michael Nadler (graduates of class 18, 1945)
with Amnon Alexandroni (class 24, 1952); Avraham Yasky
(class 23, 1951) with Shimon Powsner (who studied

25