The project is a Secondry Democratic School.  The design was done in collaboration with a planning team made up of students, teachers, and parents who were involved in the process and decision-making at various steps. It's next to an existing primary school.

The structure is an open field of connections between exterior and interior, and between A-formal spaces and formal classrooms. It is a structure that is perhaps more recognizable as an Urban environment or space than as a formal building. 

On the one hand, we wanted to create a boundary for the school's inner courtyard and for the adjacent residential neighborhood, and on the other hand, we wanted to break down this boundary and allow for sub-courtyards, paths, and encounters on both sides and at all levels.

The leading planning principles:

“The Field”: This is a broad concept, but in the context of this project, it refers to a non-hierarchical structure of spaces, a kind of grid of spaces that allows for choice, both in the route that students take between one learning space and another, and in the openness between the spaces and the outside world and between the spaces themselves.

A soft hierarchy of degrees of openness and privacy between the outside and the inside and between the formal and the A-formal: At first glance, the first concept, “field,” seems to contradict the second concept, a hierarchy of openness and formality, but in fact, as with most contradictions in architecture and life, they exist on a continuum, and the balance between them creates the richness of the experience and use of the learning space, where the school is not only an educational institution but also a place for meeting, inspiration, and creativity.

Openness and transparency: This concept is expressed in the relatively large openings to the Eucalyptus grove and the inner courtyard. It is also expressed in the large openings between floors, which allow for visibility and orientation between floors in three different locations. In addition, the building's systems are exposed – air conditioning, electricity, and lighting in public and semi-public spaces – so that, symbolically and concretely, the building allows its components to be studied and understood.

The internal and external public spaces, accessibility, openness, and functional flexibility within themselves and between them, are both in the plan and in the section.

Natural light and shadow: The building creates shaded outdoor spaces, some of which are also covered, allowing for comfortable outdoor study and meeting areas of various sizes and levels of privacy on both floors. Natural light gently illuminates the spaces, saving energy and electricity consumption.

Simplicity and warmth: The palette of materials and colors is simple and warm, blending in with the atmosphere of the city “Pardes Hanna Karkur” and connecting to the Democratic idea of modesty and equality in the allocation of resources for the public good. The palette allows students and staff to feel at home and be partners in the creative process. It is important to note that the choice of materials, colors, and furniture was also shared between the planning team and the school staff in varying combinations, so that the partnership in creation was meaningful down to the smallest details, both in terms of defining needs and deciding on solutions.

Modularity – flexibility: “Homes” were designed as a kind of A-formal club for each set of classes, creating inviting environment that encourages movement, dialogue, a sense of belonging, and community. 

A transparent acoustic partition was designed for the art studio, a dynamic wall opens onto the common space, so that the artistic activity is exposed  to the internal public space. This allows for activities and exhibitions in the large spaces with various degrees of privacy. 

The interior design and furniture respond to the needs that arose after the school opened and began operating, because there was a budget shortage. This further increased the partnership and sense of belonging and the accuracy of the design in relation to the need. In this sense, as well as in the leading concepts of school design, it is an act of urban planning, continuous, changing, and alive, opening up a final and permanent architectural creation, and in this way it continues to provide an opening and a model both in terms of the landscape and in terms of the design of the interior spaces and the various functions.