Ficus Microcarpa has been planted along the streets of Tel Aviv to provide shade and shelter from the desert sun. It is considered a staple of Israeli landscape and is integrated into, as well as predominates, that landscape. Thus, it stands out and dominates, visually, one daily basis. “The Ficus has mostly wide, full leaves... which are sometimes divided into compartments. It often reveals its roots, which come out of the ground and move out to the surface. These roots can even come out of the tree’s branches as well as its trunk and flow to the ground such that they resemble a flowing bush. The designers of this project drew inspiration from three major sources and strove to attain an organized integration of concepts, ideas, and feelings. The first and main inspiration came from the Ficus Microcarpa. The initial planning and designing of the station was executed keeping in mind the main goal – to imitate and enhance the ambiance and feel of the outside world and to bring the street into the train station. That feeling is expressed by bringing in natural light as well as creating the image of the Ficus, i.e., a trunk with a bouquet of steel pipes that are placed on the train deck. In addition, natural trees were planted and incorporated into the deck in order to emphasize that connection with the outside world, the street. The entrance to the train station was inspired by and resembles the Ficus when it is in bloom. Just like the Ficus, the entrance provides shelter from external sun and heat. A second inspiration for this project came from the Bauhaus period as Tel Aviv is considered the Bauhaus capital of the world. The edges of the train station were created to replicate the balconies of the homes in Tel Aviv during that period of time. Here, too, the elements of natural light and the feeling it promotes were both utilized in order to enhance and empower the shape of the entrance and exit portals of the train station. The colors in the train station provide an additional interpretation of the multifaceted design and constitute a reminder of how “white” and full of light are the streets of Tel Aviv. The whole station is thus painted white, a color that not only symbolizes clean lines, but also serves as a reflector (enhancing natural light that comes into the station) and as an additional source of light for the whole underground deck. The third source of inspiration came from Yad Kennedy, located in the mountains of Jerusalem. It inspired the conversation between light and shade on the deck. The cement roots of the memorial are the steel pipes roots that extend and manifest themselves across the floors of the train station deck. This also resembles the roots of the Ficus tree, which is a common theme of this design.

L – The train station deck, as a whole and by design, constitutes a natural and organic progression of the steel pipes’ roots and incorporates them into every element of the design. M – Connecting the street to the station’s platform and to the train station's entrance provides organic continuity. The steel pipe construction, which bursts out of the station’s platform and then creates a wall outside, in the street, resembles the branches of the Ficus tree, thereby defining the decline to the train deck/the entrance in a clear way. This also provides a solution to the challenge of circulation of natural air in the station. The station also combines spatial construction and glass in order to allow free flow of sun rays. Finally, an elevator decorated by steel pipes and located by the stairs (by the entrance to the train station) was added to provide utility and necessary access. S – The sitting benches on the deck were inspired by support structures for large trees, as an anchoring element that serves to separate around the steel pipes constructions that resemble the Ficus tree. A bent steel segment was used to create seats, leaning areas, and separation between seats. The deck’s lighting poles were designed to resemble new, fresh Ficus plants, which could blossom and become trees in the future . . . The staircase was planned as a natural element, made out of wood panels, which flows in a look that imitates the harmonious feeling exuded by the roots of the Ficus in nature.