Computer Science Building Check Point Tel Aviv University
key facts
The School of Computer Science building is situated in the heart of Tel Aviv University’s large campus located in north Tel Aviv. The building is planned in one of the last available spaces on campus allocated for construction adjacent to the campus synagogue designed by Mario Botta, and next to the Faculty of Engineering building designed by Louis Kahn.
The building reflects the involvement of students and lecturers on campus through the full transparency of the ground floor. The ground floor brings the outdoors in with full natural lighting, exposes the interior to passersby, and invites them to take part in activities taking place inside the building.
The offices above, with a heavy, opaque façade and high thermal insulation, is surfaced with a glazing layer detached from the wall of the building with a unique creamy print. This glazing layer that ‘coats’ the building serves as shading or as windows as needed, and creates a sense of modern airiness with an emphasis on green, sustainable design.
Higher energy efficiency
Square feet
Project details:
Location: Tel Aviv University
Architect: Kimmel Eshkolot Architects
Entrepreneur: Tel Aviv University
WAWA operations: Thermal consulting Green building planning and certification
Building category: Educational buildings
Challenges
The combination of various functions that require different degrees of opaqueness, from the opaque auditorium to the window offices with aeration and lightness levels appropriate for office space, to transparent public functions with particularly large display windows from all sides, creates the challenge of designing a façade with high energy function while introducing natural light into the structure. Concurrently, blinding light must be avoided on the transparent base level. This must all be performed at a reasonable cost.
Added value
- Innovativeness – utilization of the creamy digital glazing print affords design flexibility and preciseness in creating the pixel effect of the façade. This contrasts with the conventional method which is limited and more expensive to achieve the same versatile design.
- Unique visibility – the unique glazing coating projects airiness and modernity of sustainable green planning that is visible and melds with the environment. As such, it contributes to meeting high architectural standards that characterize the surrounding university buildings.
- A façade with high thermal insulation.
- Natural lighting and built-in passive shading – a unique digitized creamy print for a glazing coat offers a detached shading element. Windows utilizing this glazing layer are transparent and can be opened to let in light and natural ventilation.
- A fifth façade – for a practicable green roof structure – a combination of vegetation and wooden decking – serving students and providing thermal insulation.
- Energy efficiency – using A-ranked efficient VRF HVAC systems.
- Using sensors to automatically turn off lighting and air conditioning in classrooms and in laboratories.
- Harvesting air conditioner condensation to irrigate vegetation.
- Existing trees on site are protected and preserved. They provide shade on the building’s western façade, and there is no need for additional shading.
