Architecture Portfolio

Technion israel

Selected projects, 2010-2014

Michal Morad

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

MSc, Architecture & Urban Design

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Michal Morad

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

Winston Churchill

Rethinking Haifa’s historic Flour Mills 4th year project competition winner

competition entry

Toward a Levantine Urbanism, Nzareth

2013

Exhibition curation

Sliding Seat, Boston

2010

2013-2014

Kibutz Living, Lohamei Hagetaot

Levinsky Bridge Infrascape, Tel Aviv

private house design 2013

graduation project

360° Facade, Cooper Square New York competition winner 2012

2011-2012

Urban Living Room, Haifa

Dish Rack Mashrabiya

3rd year project

Installation, Bat Galim, Haifa, 2013

2010

Levinsky Street Pavilion, Tel Aviv graduation project 2011-2012

Africa’s Waste Exchange Skyscraper, Kibera

06

Maximum Romema, Jerusalem

competition entry

4th year urban design project

2013

2011

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portfolio | Table of Contents

360° Facade, Cooper Square New York 2nd place winner Anonymous D. international designcompteition, 2012

* in collaboration

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0.2m

0.5m

0.5m

create a launge area where visitors can sit and socialize.

1.8 m

sit on tubes

can only be viewd from the outside.

0.8m

art display tubes

1m

1.8 m

the “ be inside”tubes are located on the ground level and charecterized by the ability to contain people within them. art works can be displayed inside the tubes in a unique 360 degrees view enabeling the viewer to experience art as a 3d space while sitting, standing or liying down inside the art work itself.

1m

be inside tubes

light tubes

Led lighting is located inside the smallest and shortest tubes creating light focuses perforating into the holes of its adjacent tubes, transforming the heavy concrete structure into a light sculpture at night.

0.1m

A 360° Art experience. You enter inside the artwork, become a part of it and receive an amplified art experience. ‘360° Art’ questions the way we usually experience art. The picture on the wall becomes a 3D environment that invites the viewer to experience art while standing, sitting or lying down. In addition to the familiar 180° degree gallery view of artworks, ‘360° Art’ allows the viewer a different, more spatial and intimate viewing. Following, The artist showcasing his work inside the concrete tube has to rethink the way his art is presented while being inspired from the possibilities of the new spatial complexity. Since the facade is located on the street, it makes the art pieces more accessible and approachable for bypassers. The hollow concrete tubes gives spectators a layered and reframed view of the gallery while still allowing light and air to flow through. The tubes can be experienced from both the street and the ‘in between’ space created between the tubes and gallery entrance.

Led lighting is located inside the smallest and shortest tubes creating light focuses

0.2m

with Einat Zinger

structural principle recycled storm tubes. The installation integrates standard sizes of these tubes. The structural mechanism derives from the common stack shape of these tubes in factories and side roads. The structural stability of the facade is created by the self-weight of the row of tubes is anchored to the ground.

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competition | 360° facade

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+ 360 graffiti art The concrete pipe as a bedding is ideal for graffiti art. A seamless, on site artwork. The artist works inside the pipe, using its complex spatial characters to create a unique art experience.

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competition | 360째 facade

Levinsky Bridge Infrascape, Tel Aviv graduation project, IIT Tutors: Els Verbakel, Amir Peleg, 2011-2012

Project Video 1 Project Video 2

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My graduation project, ‘Levinsky Bridge Infrascape’, offers a new outlook over existing mega scale transportation infrastructure, situated within highly dense urban areas. Since 2006, more than 60,000 Eritreans and Sudanese have arrived In Israel and concentrated primarily in south Tel Aviv.

The project derives from this ongoing process and its effects over Levinsky neighborhood, situated in south Tel Aviv.The influx of African asylum seekers to south Tel Aviv is faced, almost indefinitely, with local residents resisting their “invasion”. With Israeli authorities not recognizing the asylum seekers as refugees, they are forced to survive on their own, while enduring harsh living conditions. With no infrastructure to support their existence, they consume the area’s existing spaces, ranging from public parks to private back yards.

Levinsky Bridge is used to link the city to its central bus station. Similarly to other transportation elements, this concrete mega structure shadows everything beneath it for the sake of transportation efficiency. Currently, the bridge functions as a hazard, depriving light, sight and air flow from the people walking beneath it and the residents dwelling aside it.With no formal or concrete solutions to the situation from local and national authorities, the Levinsky area is nearing its boiling point.

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graduation project | Bridge Infrascape

+ The projects objective is to rethink The Bridge, situated in the centre of the conflict zone as a temporary solution, providing a win-win situation for both residence and refugees. Offering free space in a highly dense city, Levinsky Bridge, stretching over 2 km can function as a temporary city inhabiting the temporary asylum seekers, transforming its role from a true hazard to an unpredictable opportunity.

LIGHT Nightime

views

SUN winter summer

LIGHT Nightime

views

SUN winter summer

The project maintains the bridge function as a public transportation road on its top level, while rethinking the leftover space below it. The temporary city provides the refugees with the infrastructure they need in order to survive. Small scale housing, a market, kindergartens, free clinics, NGO centres, religious sanctuaries and vegetable gardens; all suspended from the bridge, using its existing concrete structure as means of structural support, electricity and water supply. The neighbourhood’s residence share some of the bridge hybrid programme, such as new bicycle lanes, a Saturday market and are also gaining the bridge new identity and renewal.

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PROGRAME +community caffe wi-fi access

Inte r vension Index

mass under bridge

bend and shrink

floor space

responsive facade

vertical gardens

floor space

+community caffe wc +shower wi-fi access +community garden wi-fi access

section a

section b

+ngo center kindergarten temporary dwelling

section c

+landormat internet caffe wi fi acsess +red cross clinic temporary dwelling +youth center wc & shower

section d

+community garden wi-fi access

section e

+street gallery wi-fi access

circulation cores section f

section g

+library wifi access +church day care center

section h

EDUCATION & CULTURE INFASTRUCTURE HEALTH & RELIGION TEMPORARY DWELLING COMMERCE

section i

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crossovers ground floor

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UTV_ThesisBook

The Levinsky street pavilion design aspires both its form and usage affordances from the heterogenic Levinsky space.

A shared space between immigrants, asylum seekers and prostitutes. The unorthodox activities that can be found in Levinlsky area are compiled into one spatial object. Each activity was formulated into a s section. The activity of seating took on the form of a public seat, and activities such as praying or hooking were given the attributes of interior space. The complete object was generated by the “lofting” one section to the next.

1.PRAY+SIT

2.HOOKING+ SIT

4.LAUNGE+TALK ON THE PHONE +URINATE

3.READ+SIT TOGETHER+HIDE

5.SIT BACK2BACK+HIDE (PLAY)

6.LAY+HIDE

!&'$)(%*

Levinsky Street Pavilion, Tel Aviv graduation project, IIT Tutors: Els Verbakel, Amir Peleg, 2011-2012 026

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graduation project | Levinsky Pavilion

10000

Estimates of population growth evolution in between 1950 and 2050 source: United Nations www.un.org

5000

Africa

1000

Latin America

500 200 100

millions of people

Africa’s Waste Exchange Skyscraper, Kibera

Asia

2000

Europe Northern America

50 Oceania

20 10 1950

2013

year

2050

Concept

Evolo Skyscraper competition entry 2013

The waste exchange skyscraper, aims at exchanging waste for life. In Kibera, Africa, life

* in collaboration

located in Kibera, part of Nairobi slums area, where 1.5 million people are lacking electricity

means electricity and housing. In a world where waste is often traded with, we suggest relating to waste as a precious resource. For African countries the only constant resources is waste. Using a waste operated power plant, we suggest exchanging the waste into highly needed electricity and building blocks. The Africa waste exchange skyscraper is

with Einat Zinger

+ Case- Global waste trafficking For the past three decades, African nations have been used as massive dumping sites for hazardous toxic waste, transferred from Developed countries. Struggling with economic hardship, African nations have been tempted by the financial gains of “importing” Waste, while developed countries are motivated to reduce costs of waste disposal. The export of waste from Developed countries represents a failure of environmental justice on a global scale. Municipal Solid waste management in Africa is practically non-existent, and results in mountains of waste within population centers, threatening human health and environments. Africa generates 1.3 billion tones of municipal waste each year, and volumes are expected to increase to 2.2 billion tones by 2025.

Urgent action is needed, this is a global waste crisis!

Africa- the black continent, the world at night from space

source: www.giss.nasa.gov

and live in improvised shelters. Since kibera doesn't have any waste management policy, source of illness and pollution. Known as the black continent, Africa generates only 4% of global electricity, despite consisting 16% of the world's population. Africa is in desperate need of light. The waste exchange skyscraper functions as a lantern at night, allowing life to keep going. The skyscraper can be replicated and located all over the developing world, where The Africa waste exchange skyscraper suggests a real time solution to Africa's waste crisis, One of Africa's biggest problems, WASTE, can be exchanged for hope to a sustainable future.

ELECTRICITY BUILDING BLOCKS

WASTE WASTE

Evolo competition | Waste Skyscraper

Evolo competition | Waste Skyscraper

Rethinking Haifa’s historic Flour Mills 4th year project TASC competition winner tutor: Dafna FisherGewirtzman, 2010 a black hole tranformed into to part of the city

+ Haifa, historically the core of heavy industry in Israel, was established during the British Mandate. Due to the resources invested in the area the city attracted many entrepreneurs and the modern port became the generator of numerous industries.

The Great Flour Mills were built in Haifa as part of a sequence of industrial factories in the development of the city and the land of Israel.

The structures designed by Got and Edelman together comprise the iconic façade of this built compound, adjacent to the wholesaler market. The sequential realization of the complex contributed to its architectural diversity; monumental silos beside low hangars, concrete structures beside steel pavilions, arches beside orthogonal lines, open and close, transparent and opaque. This industry is active until today.

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Suggested Public space

Suggested Visitors Path insertion

Suggested Flour mill complex

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Existing Flour mill complex

visitors centre floor plan

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Suggested Visitors Path

+ I began with a detailed scrutiny of the existing structures from the grinding process to the physical structures of the compound. the projects objective is integrates active industry with a public activity center, a gesture that reflects the reciprocal relationship between the city and its industry at a site physically located on the edge of both. This reciprocity helps define the relationship between the existing structures and the addition. As the existing industrial structure is designed to bear enormous loads, it became the anchor for the new “parasite” system, enabling the insertion of a museum walkway that traverses the compound and allows the public to enjoy a special experience. The new light structures are secured above the main court level, leaving it free for public activity. the movement of visitors on the site is following the linear milling process and the movement of the grains in the pipes The idea of branding was also part of the project from the designation of the compound as a “Flour Factory Museum” to the new programs introduced, such as bakeries and cafes, and special classes for baking students. The wholesale market, adjacent to the great mills, is also transformed into bakeries enabling the location of an open market on the neighborhood level. This adaptive reuse proposal aims at transforming this compound to a unique theme-place, both at the urban scale and perhaps also on the national scale.

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Urban context

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Tasc Winner | Haifa’s Flour Mills

Toward a Levantine Urbanism, Nzareth Exhibition curation 2013-2014

* in collaboration with Els Verbakel

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+ The international exhibition Toward a Levantine Urbanism summarizes an ongoing research, guided by Prof. Els Verbakel (Technion), Prof.

Stephane Beel (KULeuven) and Arch. Jan Mannaerts (KULeuven). The research focuses on Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel as a unique case study demonstrating urban conceptions in the Mediterranean / Middle Eastern city.

Since the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948, the city of Nazareth has experienced an unplanned, accelerated process of urbanization. The political climate in Israel, along with the arrival of many refugees from surrounding Arab villages forced the city to densify and grow in a disorderly fashion. The only physical barriers of development were those of the topography and of the newly established Jewish city in the east, Nazareth Illit. Consequently, although formally declared as a city, today, Nazareth evidently lacks sufficient urban infrastructure that supports urban life, such as open public spaces, cultural facilities and a road network that can cope with the enormous traffic jams the city faces daily. This situation however is not unique for the city of Nazareth and characterizes many other Arab cities in Israel, raising the question how to develop new urban strategies for cities with historical Levantine urban core in combination with current urbanization pressures.

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+ As part of the research, students interviewed Nazareth residents and major stakeholders in the city. They collected data in multiple scales while mapping the different fragments forming today’s Nazareth. By navigating between bottom up and top down strategies for data collection, urban analysis and mapping, they were able to develop a set of local yet diverse strategies for urban regeneration in Nazareth. Most of the projects are located in the periphery of the old city while each project is conceived separately, and can be implemented in and of itself.

The main goal of each single project is to regenerate a small part of the city, by dealing with many of the city’s problems on a smaller scale. As part of this exhibition and the summary of the ongoing research, we developed a large-scale strategy that connects the individual projects into a larger urban vision. Throughout the process, the group of students and their instructors realized the potential of tranportation infrastructure as a base for future urbanization of the urban region including Nazareth’s core. As a completion of the city’s existing infrastructure, we developed a vision for a new transportation ring surrounding the city serving major public, cultural and commercial programs and allowing for local access to the city center. A butterfly-effect of individual projects forms the base of a large-scale strategy allowing for a process of urban regeneration derived from multiple scales of intervention, eventually leading to a new vision for the city of Nazareth.

This urban vision and the process of its formation will be showcased through an international exhibition , first to be presented in Nazareth and later on traveling to Amman, Brussels and New York. The exhibition aims to develop a discourse among residents, planners and authorities and will be accompanied by an international workshop that will further explore the urban vision for Nazareth and the formation of a Levantine Urbanism at large, with the participation of architects and urbanists, Nazareth residents and both local and national authorities.

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043Exhibition | Toward a Levantine Urbanism

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Maximum Romema, Jerusalem

Romema is a neighborhood in West Jerusalem, near the entrance to the city and is nowadays situated at the back front of the Jerusalem’s central bus station. Romema was originally designed as a high end Jewish neighborhood amongst Arab villages

by Patrick Geddes and is often considered the first neighborhood built in Jerusalem during the British mandate.

An urban investigation of Romema shows historical footprints of different kinds.

Modern, large scale developments such as the central bus station at its north west, Allenby historical square at its center, Lifta Arab village at its south, industrial warehouses in its center and highly dense housing in its east opening again to a wild green valley. Romema is made out of patches, each patch representing its history and the conflicts of Jerusalem, Israel and the Middle East region.

The project approach is to characterize and trace each patch, allowing the heterogenic quilt of Romema to maintain its diversity and become accessible to the people behind each patch, diverting it from its currently 100% orthodox character.

4th year urban design project tutores: Rachel Kallus, Hagit Harutka, 2011

* in collaboration with Noa Baram

044 Romema Master plan, Jerusalem

045

+ The projects tactics is treating the friction seams between the patches, at times infilling these seems in specific public spaces suitable for certain populations and at other instances, inserting additional housing program for commuters next to the cities main public transportation center.

The overall strategy and tactics of the project aims at maximizing what is already existing, allowing Romema’s patch like nature continue in the hopes of it not transforming in to a monolithic neighborhood dominated by one type of land usage or community.

sec a-a

sec b-b

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Urban Living Room, Haifa’s visitors center, 3rd year project TASC competition entry tutor: Uri Cohen, 2010

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The projects is situated at a junction point, intersecting 2 historic streets, Ben Gurion Boulevard and Jaffa Road Street in Haifa. The two streets are highly contrasted and characterized in different atmospheres, land usages and morphology. Ben Gurion is made up of mostly small Templers homes,’ flakes’, while Jaffa Street, a historic craftsmen road is made up of industrial warehouses and garages, the giants.

The projects response to its urban context is incorporating both scales within the given program as means of mediation. Taking in mind the areas lack of public spaces I tested several options of mediating the different scales in the future visitors center.

The selected scheme suggests using the ‘flakes’ at ground level, allowing the public space between them to remain free and open to the public 24 hours a day. The ‘giant’ scale is incorporated through an urban binder truss used for roofing additional programmatic needs.

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Urban Living Room | Haifa

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Urban Living Room | Haifa

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Urban Living Room | Haifa

Sliding Seat, Boston Boston Design Museum International competition entry 2013

* in collaboration with Einat Zinger

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sliding seat is a new dynamic sitting experience. you are enveloped by fabric, the hammock like seat carries your body weight, you serenader.. replacing the solid surface of a public seat with a fiber elastic fabric, we created a new prototype for public siting in the urban realm. the flexibility of the seat allows it to have a motion range starting from 7� (closed) to 72� (fully open) width. within the 72� boundary users can easily adjust their seat to their specific needs and desires. the sliding seat experience rethinks the way we interact in and with the public space around us. a public seat is usually constant, almost indifferent to its surroundings and its users. the sliding seat concept allows each user to operate it. wood frames slide inside 2 rails fixed to a concrete anchoring base. they allow the user to change the width of the seat depending on their needs and the circumstances. using fabric instead of a solid surface gives the user an enveloping sitting experience. the level of interaction is up to the user, he can remain indifferent or become an enthusiastic activist.

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Project Video

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the flexible nature of the sliding seat allows for flat packaging of the seat, contributing to its sustainability. all materials used are environmentally friendly. the fiber elastic fabric is made out of recycled nylon and the wood frames are made out of reclaimed wood planks. the fiber elastic fabric is highly durable and can sustain harsh wether conditions. during rainy or snow season the seat can be folded, preventing snow accumulation. the fiber elastic fabric is jointed to the wood frames using anchoring bolts. the entire seat system is anchored to 2 rails in the concrete base. the first woof frame on the right has a rigid anchoring to the base itself, the rest of the frames can slide from side to side and locked in specific joints by users. the seat itself comes in two parts, the fully assembled sitting system (frames and fabric) and the anchoring base with integrates rail system. the single construction operation on site is anchoring the first frame to concrete base.the seat can be mass produced.

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Competition | Sliding Seat

Kibbutz Living, Lohamei Hagetaot private house design 2013

* in collaboration with Einat Zinger

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+ kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot, like many others is in the process of expanding into its former agricultural plots.

The project is situated in the new kibbutz annex, allowing for a new interpretation of modern housing in the kibbutz. The kibbutz master plan legislated strict rules in regards to the new neighborhood character, forcing all new houses to have slope roofs.

Planned for a young couple with a baby, the house is designed on a low budget.

The design aims at maximizing the slope roof, transforming it from a mere visual characteristic into a practical shading element wrapping the family’s garden facing west.

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Kibbutz Living | Lohamei Hagetaot

+ The installation objective is to form a facade using ready-made objects. The everyday dish rack we that can be found in most kitchens is the chosen ready-made object used for constructing the installation.

The rather simple low cost dish rack has a range of movement enabling a multiple appearances of the same object. Usually horizontal, the dish rack is placed on a kitchen surface. The first step in its transformation is rotating it into a vertical position. Easily stacked, the dish rack can form a vertical surface. Each module staked is opened at a different angle, forming a diverse facade to begin with. When facing direct wind the facade dish rack facade responds to it by changing its appearance while enabling air circulation on both exterior and interior spaces.

Dish Rack Mashrabiya Installation, Bat Galim, Haifa, 2013 060

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Installation | Dish Rack Mashrabiya ,