architecture

Video editing and architecture – they meet in an interesting aspect. Watch and read about a short clip I edited, and taught me an important lesson about details.

The Shikoku Pilgrimage is an inspiring route covering 88 temples in Shikoku island, Japan. If you have only a few days in the area, consider these day hike options, which can be a great introduction to the pilgrimage, where beautiful natural scenery, inspiring temples in exotic locations and lovely towns and rural areas blend into a holistic experience.

Located in south Serbia, Niš is a historical-cultural crossroads. Interesting archaeology, historical relics and monuments, and remains from troubled times, dot the city together with pleasant streets, vivid street life and nice modernist architecture.

Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, retains a beautiful architectural legacy from colonial times. Among several interesting styles, an interesting collection of buildings built in modernist and international style designs dot the hilly areas of the city.

What makes Almaty, Kazakhstan’s former capital and its main commercial and cultural hub, so welcoming and attractive? Here’s an introduction to a city which is a journey, a must visit for anyone related to urban design and planning.

Can Soviet public housing be interesting? A tour in Almaty’s residential blocks is a journey through a surprising living environment with intriguing facades.

Photos and video of day hike from Tokushima to temples 20-21 along the Shikoku Henro.

Photos of day hike from Takamatsu to temples 80-81-82 along the Shikoku Henro.

Photos and video of day hike from Takamatsu to temples 84-85 along the Shikoku Henro.

Novi Beograd was planned during the late 1940s and has been built ever since as an overwhelmingly impressive modernist town. But don’t let the gray look of its brutalist buildings deceive you – unique details, green vegetation, care of locals and vast open areas create a unique environment.

Niš, like any other Serbian town, contains an interesting variety of modernist architecture. From small apartment buildings with delicate simple modernist lines to large high rise brutalist blocks, and magnificent public buildings.

Situated in Vojvodina, north Serbia, close to the border with Hungary, Subotica enjoys influences of various periods and cultures. Delicate architecture from Central Europe meets modernist socialist architecture of Balkan Yugoslavia, decorating the town’s pleasant streets.

A magnificent example of Hungarian Art Nouveau, the huge synagogue in Subotica, Serbia, is a truly inspiring temple.

What can we learn from makeshift housing along active railway tracks about Kolkata, India and people’s lives?

For decades, prefabricated walls that used to be houses where people lived, have been laying down peacefully in a remote area in Israel. A stroll in a mesmerizing unplanned open museum tells a story of a unique town and settlement policy.

Moscow’s Zaryadye Park is a man-made wild area, an outdoors-indoors organic, flowing and inspirational fabric. But mostly, it blurs the unreasonable existing dichotomy between architecture and landscape architecture.

Repetitive geometrical forms were dominant in soviet architecture and design. It seems that sidewalks were playgrounds for designers to try elaborate repetitive interlocking forms…

The city of Naryn is stretched 15 Milometers along the narrow Naryn river valley in Kyrgyzstan. Lovely hospitable people make up for a place seems forgotten in time.

Some urban scenes from amazing Delhi, December 2016.

Join a visit to a neighborhood with a mix of small workshops, mainly for processing metal and creating various tools, and tiny dwelling units surrounding common courtyards where meeting and washing take place.

The western ex-cooling tower of Haifa Oil Refineries was turned into a visitor center. In order to accept visitors, the decaying concrete structure had to be renovated. A documentation in video and photos provides an opportunity to get a glimpse of this unique challenging project.

A nostalgic journey back in time to see the iconic Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv under construction, with charming night sights and city views from the top.

Once a small intimate hotel with distinguished guests and some “bad luck” incidents. Today an abandoned shattered and battered building, which still holds some clues to its past glory.

Photographed visit in an abandoned hotel that was nearly completed and never opened. The place became a familiar cool hanging out place, with alternative life created by visitors.

Is it a statue? An irrigation device? A refreshing corner for birds and dogs? An intriguing element in the street? Take a look at this interesting urban element…

Villagers in North-East India developed an innovative technique to construct bridges and other useful structures out of living aerial roots of rubber (Ficus Elastica) trees. Watch a short documentary and an inspiring photo gallery showcasing root bridges and ladders, with commentary analyzing their structural principles. A must for any civil engineer, architect and designer!

Exploring the world earns you important skills and tools to become a better architect and city planner; From developing sensitivity and feel for spaces, through learning communication skills to getting inspiration from vernacular architecture.

For about 50 years, a magnificent hotel and theater complex in Tiberias has been abandoned. Beautiful building details as well as signs of time blend with the views of the Sea of Galilee.

A piece of history no longer existing: Urban Exploration South Sarona Tel Aviv 2006: Vehicle Maintenance Unit and Training Workshop of Ordnance Corps IDF

A footage of Venice in the morning with Vivaldi on the background became an editing Étude, an urban concert dedicated to those who make Venice – sweeping, collecting garbage, loading, carrying and unloading, through the meandering alleys and canals.

Visiting The Floating Piers was a once in a life time experience. A unique installation that enabled people to walk on water. A video, photo gallery, impressions and a few thoughts about the project and its “aftermath”.

“Where bamboo exists – No Worries!” – Magnificent structures for living and storage built by Garo people are not only functional structures but also aesthetic ones. An inspirational tour of fine vernacular architecture.

Root bridges are bridges made of living tree roots. It was believed that such bridges are unique to southern areas of Meghalaya, but here are some beautiful examples for root bridges in Nagaland state in India, around the village of Nyahnyu – Mon district.

Waiting to cross the street can be extremely annoying on hot summer days. Placing parasols on the sidewalk in front of pedestrian crossings may provide a relief and encourage walking.

An inspiring visit to Aspern – Seestadt – Vienna’s new suburb. Varied materials, colors and landscape details and a pleasant urban design make this new town a unique model for a new suburb

Discover Buzludzha Monument – a fine example of socialist/communist – brutalist architecture currently in decay. By video and stills we shall discover the unique architectural and artistic features of the site.

A fine piece of Communist – Brutalist architecture commemorates an important event in Bulgarian history. Currently neglected and in poor maintenance, a climb inside the structure is a thrilling experience, so as the view from the top.

A unique snow video and photo gallery from places that seldom see snow in Israel: Yotvat (Yodfat) ridge, the settlement of Hararit and Laura (Lavra) Netofa.

The square is shaped by several buildings and structures which bring life into Andersa Street. Inspired by prewar buildings, what shape should they wear?

Not just another metro station, but an integrated space, inspired by prewar buildings layout, connected to the street by natural light and sight, and comfortably accessible using intriguing passages

Creating meaningful public spaces, adding buildings for various uses and construction of a metro station are suggested to create a vivid hub for Muranów, inspired by the life that existed there before the war.

Visiting the enchanting landscapes of Mariovo, southern Macedonia, and the villages of Štavica and Manastir

The story of Vitolište in Macedonia is the story of numerous villages all over the world that were left to decay due to massive urbanization processes. We shall tour the village that once knew lively days, guided by Vane who used to live there as a child.

Intervention in Warsaw / Muranów inspired by pre-war urban tissue. Summary of first semester of the project presenting historical development, values, commemoration issues, master plan and sample intervention ideas

Initial intervention ideas inspired by pre-war Warsaw urban tissue are presented through excerpts from a computerized model

In this post we shall get a glimpse to pre-war Warsaw and its urban characteristics, followed by a comparison to current Warsaw, through aerial photos and analyses.

I chose the former Warsaw Ghetto area as the site for the final Architecture and Town Planning studies project. In this post a summary of the first phase of the project is presented – observations, data analysis, history, conflicts, and finally architectural research questions, some ideas and relevant references

Haifa Trail was inaugurated, as Thomas Fietz, a Trail Runner from Germany, completed the 70 Kilometers of the trail in 15 hours, divided to two days. Thomas was the first to complete the whole trail, the first tourist on the trail, and the first to run it.

Can a huge industrial complex in Fier, Albania, can be reused? Site structure analysis may give inspiration to those who care about Albania and may give a new meaning to remains of an era that many Albanians prefer to forget.

We continue our urban exploration of Fier’s industrial site. The northern part was a nitrogen fertilizer factory, and its monumental concrete remains form amazing compositions and rare post industrial views.

Communist-era industrial legacy – a tour in Fier, Albania’s abandoned thermal power plant

Take a look at the streets of Sderot, a town under threat of rockets, where people have only 15 to 30 seconds to find a shelter during rockets alarm

From the wet lush green areas of the lower Budhi Gandaki at ~500 meters above sea level, through amazing views of Mount Manaslu and the snow covered mountains around Larke La 5106 meters high to magical Bhimtang and beyond…

Bridges are common in the Nepal Himalayas and they are more than mere engineering. Traversing a bridge above gushing water is almost a sacred ceremony… Join a virtual journey through the bridges of Manaslu Circuit and Tsum Valley treks.

A notable construction of lodges currently takes place along the Manaslu Circuit trekking route. Locals identify the increase in trekker numbers and build new accommodation facilities, some of them quite different from traditional local structures

A 24 hours visit to New York brings observation into the reciprocity of forms and people taking place above and below ground in the ‘Big Apple’.

A Glimpse of Georgia (Gruzia), the wonderful Caucasus country rich with natural beauty and wonderful people…

The “Obelisk” is a recent addition to the main courtyard of the Thechnion. Conceived by Santiago Calatrava and dedicated to the memory of Russel Berrie, this unique kinetik statue is a focal point in the Technion.

2009 Delhi is dazzling and enchanting as ever, but with a strong flavor of renovation. The fabulous Metro system, cellular everywhere, CNG operated rickshaws and even rumors about a Main Bazar face lift, bring a fresh sight to India’s vibrant capital.

We all like to admire places from viewpoints, whether natural or man made. This presentation is a journey-quiz through sights seen from man made towers in various countries…

A journey to Romania in April 1999. It was a voyage back in time… Join a journey through Romania’s rural areas as well as some more familiar urban places, and meet its landscapes and people.

Documentation of the construction works of the Santiago Calatrava Pedestrian Bridge above Jabotinsky Road in Petah-Tikva, Israel.

Yin-Yang interpretation of a bird eye view of Venice. Inspired by a visit to Venice that came immediately after a long trip to China

A historical cruise along China’s Yangtze river, where people, villages and towns are relocated due to the rising water level following Three Gorges Dam construction.

A three months long journey is coming to an end, time to checkout the construction works of China’s national stadium in Beijing, which is going to be the focal point of the 2008 Olympic Games. Will I be able to go inside and explore?

A casual stop at a touristic site along the Yangtze river turns into a journey in a city being dismantled brick by brick. The Yangtze water level is rising due to the Three Gorges Dam construction, local people of Fengdu are relocated, their real city becomes a Ghost City, while tourists rush to see the other Ghost City that lies above – a tribute to the afterlife.

A visit to a unique 1700 years old village-town in Chongqing’s remote Youyang County, which will be vanished underwater, due to the construction of the Pengshui Dam on the Wu Jiang (river).

Unique artistic presentation featuring art and people in London and Tel-Aviv

Photos from Bulgaria – A trip in Rila, Pirin, Rodopi ranges with a climb to Vihren Peak, and visit in Shiroka Loka, Plovdiv, Sofia, Trigrad Canyon, Bansko and more…

Photographed memories from the New York City World trade Center Twin Towers

Some impressions from a short visit to Amsterdam. Surprisingly, most I could see was bicycles.

Fly a spaceship, explore the stars, visit peculiar urban designs and meet some nice machinery… My almost forgotten LEGO designs, mostly from the 1980s.

Images from Turkey – Kaçkar, Erzurum, Kars, Ani, Cappadocia, and more…