Convalescent Home, Tiberias 1973
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The building is located on a steep hill to the west of Lake Tiberias (-206 m below sea level), and facing the Gilad and Golan mountains, with a panoramic view of the whole lake. The concept of the building and its architectural solution were the outcome of its unique location and its strong relation to the lake.
The entrance level, two storeys high and rising on pilotis, serves as an open terrace, allowing an intermittent view of the lake. Above this level rise seven guest-room storeys with sixteen double rooms on each floor. The building has an open roof, which is used for sun-bathing and relaxation. The juxtaposition of the guest-rooms, facing the town of Tiberias to the south and Safed to the north, results in the 'saw-toothed' terrace texture of the facade.
The tower, the pilotis and the vertical room sections create a vertical rhythm reflecting the steepness of the slope on which the building rises, while the dining-hall, the terrace and the garden areas on the eastern side of the building echo the horizontal lake surface, spreading 200 m below. The diagonally modular scheme and structure resulted from the clear intention to make optimum use of the prevailing breeze as well as of the panoramic view.
The lower floors contain the dining-hall, which cantilevers over the hilly slope, seeming to float above the abyss below; game-rooms; library; bar and a club-room with a movie theatre on its lower level.
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