Israel Pavilion, Expo 1967, Montreal

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The design objective of the Israel Pavilion was to express the history of Israeli development through the pavilion's architecture and exhibits. This aim was achieved by designing a two-storey building, with the upper floor telling the story, while the lower floor served functional purposes, including a cinema and restaurant. Because of the temporary nature of the building - the original intention had been to ship it back to Israel after the exhibition - a modular wall panel system was chosen for its construction. The material used, reinforced fibreglass, could be moulded easily into any form, because it was light and could be mounted and dismantled with ease. The zig-zag overlapping disposition of the panels created a richly articulated wall surface, offering a strong play of light and shade. Furthermore the zig-zag form was expressed in the interior and favourably utilized in inclined surfaces and niches suitable for exhibition purposes. Our aim was to achieve an integration of the building's interior and exterior suitable for the comprehensive solution of the story and architecture.

The pavilion attempted to relate to the site through its simple free hexagonal form on the upper level and the more flexible lower level which penetrated and supported the main building mass. Construction was based on a 30/60 modular grid, which established not only the points of vertical support, but also the dimensions and angular intersections of the wall panel units and sub-units.