Page 386 - The Architecture of Nadler-Nadler-Bixon-Gil

1961–72 Beer Sheva City Hall

First prize in competition

Observation tower, 1972 The architects won the planning competition for the
1972 ,‫מגדל תצפית‬ Beer Sheva City Hall in 1961, yet seven years passed
before the corner stone was laid, in the presence of
383 Minister of Finance Pinchas Sapir. The building was
completed in 1972, and only then were the various
municipal offices, scattered in five different sites across
the city, gathered into the new building. The plot chosen
for the city hall is on the east bank of Rager Boulevard,
the city’s central axis, beside other public buildings and
opposite Keren Cinema.

Shaped in the form of one elongated horizontal
unit, the building’s façades seem to enclose narrow
windows among their folds, airing and illuminating the
rooms. These are arranged around three wide internal
courtyards that are not seen from outside. Climate
solutions are apparent in both courtyard and window
design – protected from the blinding sun and sand
storms. The concrete walls were left exposed on the top
two floors whereas the ground level was clad in roughly
hewn local stone.

The building’s entrance is marked by a large
public space from which a 22 meter high observation
tower rises, constituting a local focal point. Originally
the architects wanted to place a sculpture by Yehiel
Shemi at the top of the tower, but could not obtain
sufficient funds. Later on the tower’s observation balcony
was closed, and now holds telecommunication hardware.