Page 38 - The Architecture of Nadler-Nadler-Bixon-Gil

Gil’s most significant contribution was in the
field of library design. An apparent change is already
noticeable on the façade of the Zalman Aranne Central
Library at Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheva (1968-72)
[pp. 172-183]. Recurring apertures form-and-net the
northern façade, exposing the building’s frame while also
functioning as light channels leading indirect natural light
into the reading and study halls – a feature that was
secondary in the previous libraries designed by the firm
that were characterized by obscure and monolithic
sculptural facades (National Library in Jerusalem and
Sourasky Library in Tel Aviv). Since then, light had become
a main preoccupation, also affecting furniture designed
by the firm. On a visit to Berlin’s new central library
designed by Hans Scharoun – which at the time only
its first stage was completed – the architects were
impressed by the general duskiness of the hall and the
independent light fixtures on the individual study stations
for the use of each reader. Following this visit, the
architects designed white PVC tables for the Aranne
library study halls with individual neon lights set inside
their upper fold – setting a precedent in Israeli design.

Attentions to the user community and to local
building traditions are other characteristics that began
appearing in the firm’s work during the 1980s. For example,
the residential complex in the Gonen neighborhood in
Jerusalem (1980-83) [pp. 336-341] was planned for a
specific community around a synagogue functioning as
the heart of the neighborhood. The complex was built
near another one planned by the firm in the 1960s,
comprising rows of freestanding square cottages situated
on the natural slope. The latter complex, on whose design
Gil took an active part, is constructed as a fabric of
influences taken from many layers of the local history of
architecture and urban planning: alleyways, open
staircases, arches and an inner central courtyard gathering
communal life. Unlike previous projects the firm had
built in Jerusalem, where buildings were typically clad in
Jerusalem stone, the monumentality of buildings such as
the International Cultural Center for Youth, Jerusalem
(1956-60), or the School of Social Work (1961-66), was

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