Architecture of Israel

The architecture of Israel has been influenced by the different styles of architecture brought in by those who have occupied the country over time, sometimes modified to suit the local climate and landscape. Fortified Crusader castles, Islamic madrassas, Byzantine churches, Templer houses, Bauhaus-style modernist buildings, Arab arches and minarets, Russian Orthodox onion domes, and soaring glass-sided skyscrapers - all are part of the architecture of Israel.

The Arabs built small stone houses on the hillsides with flat or dome roofs. The Crusaders built fortresses on strategic hilltops. The Christians built churches to mark sites where Jesus walked. The Templers built homes with tiled roofs like those in the German countryside. The British Mandatory authorities passed a law requiring all construction in Jerusalem to be of Jerusalem stone and introduced the idea of garden suburbs. In the early years of statehood, Israel built rows of concrete tenements to accommodate the masses of new immigrants to replace the huts, tents and packing crates of the maabarot. Tel Aviv's White City of Tel Aviv has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As property values have risen, skyscrapers are going up around the country. The Moshe Aviv Tower in Ramat Gan is the tallest building in Israel to date.

Dov Karmi, Zeev Rechter and Arieh Sharon were among the leading architects of the early 1950s.Rudolf (Reuven) Trostler played an important role in designing the country's early industrial buildings.Dora Gad designed the interiors of the Knesset, the Israel Museum, the country's first large hotels, the Jewish National and University Library, El Al planes and Zim passenger ships.Amnon Niv designed Moshe Aviv Tower, Israel's tallest building. David Resnick was a Brazilian-born Israeli architect who won the Israel Prize in architecture and the Rechter Prize for iconic Jerusalem buildings such as the Israel Goldstein Synagogue and Brigham Young University on Mount Scopus.

...
Wikipedia