Adelson School of Entrepreneurship
David Robins and Dan Price

The 6000 m2 Sheldon and Miriam Adelson School of Entrepreneurship at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya is located in the northeastern corner of the Herzliya campus, with a first-of-its-kind institution in Israel dedicated to research and entrepreneurship.

 

The architecture reflects the spirit of innovation and the “start-up” culture at the heart of the school's philosophy. Unusually high spaces were designed to support the changing teaching environment and achieve the efficiency and modularity that the client required. The building is a metaphor for the entrepreneurial spirit – focused and uncompromising while at the same time dynamic, creative and humane.

 

The public foyer and the student’s lounge on the ground floor offers a space for exhibitions highlighting the achievements of the “startup nation”. This double-height foyer leads directly to a 165-seat lecture hall, the cafeteria, the school’s executive offices and a glass-walled conference room where the most important meetings and presentations take place.

 

Above the lower floors, which are public in character, there are three floors of specialized study rooms, lecturers' offices, conference rooms and supporting facilities: the "greenhouses" of innovation.

 

One unique feature of the school is the media lab: miLab.  Here the staff teach and research new media, software design, robotics and the interface between technology and people. The lab is built as an open space for frontal and group learning, surrounded by support facilities. Because the work in this laboratory have a certain performative nature, the space is enclosed by a large soundproof glass wall so that visitors can witness the atmosphere of collective enthusiasm and creativity within the lab.

 

The building can be seen as a conceptual and physical hub for creativity and collaboration. Unlike conventional manufacturing which deals with the efficient processing of raw materials for beneficial objects, the raw materials of this school are people who seek to nurture ideas in collaboration and in spirit of transparency, opportunism and inspiration. At the heart of the building are a series of open social spaces designed to encourage networking and interactions between students and faculty. These spaces surround the central stairway. The stairway is hung on thin steel cables and bordered by a stainless-steel mesh handrail both of which suggest transparency and efficiency.

 

The site required that the building face west to overlook the campus. This facade is therefore entirely glazed and is protected by 50 vertical XPM steel brise-soleil (16.5 m high and 1.35 m high.) The gap between each vertical brise-soleil is 75 cm, designed to regulate the direct radiation from the setting sun. We chose a particular mesh which blocks the light from the south west but allows a view to the northwest. Using this XPM allows natural light to penetrate deep into the building while giving optimal solar protection without compromising the view of the campus.

 

STATUS: Completed
SITE: Herzliya, Israel

SIZE: 6,000 m²

CLIENT: Interdisciplinary Center

Photography: Amit Geron