Crafting Visuals for Ella Hassin and Ruth Leonov’s Design

From a philosophical point of view, a blank page can speak volumes. Not only because the unsaid words also carry a meaning, but because the blank page as an object, precisely the so to say ‘carrier of the message’ in itself, also makes sense.

For Ella Hassin and Ruth Leonov, this idea was the starting point when designing the Hebrew Academy in Jerusalem.

To put it further in perspective, according to the designer duo, it is not exclusively the building that matters, but its surroundings, including the people who either are going to use it, or are simply going to pass by it every day. 

Therefore, the inner yard got a lot of attention: it is a nice spot to grab a cup of coffee, and it also serves as a passage that connects the surrounding park with the academy and the academy with the street. The limestone material and the yard’s thin artificial water paths—that represent Jerusalem’s road network—bring important visual impressions from Jerusalem city into the Academy complex.