The Act of Creation and the Spirit of a Place

This book was nominated for the RIBA international book award 2007. In this book Nili Portugali, presents her particular interpretation of the holistic-phenomenological worldview in theory and in practice, a worldview which stands in recent years at the forefront of the scientific discourse, and is tightly related to Buddhist philosophy. The purpose of architecture is first and foremost to create a human environment for human beings. The real challenge of current architectural practice is to make the best use of the potential inherent in our modern technological age. Yet, modern society has lost the value of man and thus created a feeling of alienation between man and the environment. Contemporary architecture sought to dissociate itself from the world of emotions and connect the design process to the world of ideas, thus creating a rational relation between building and man, devoid of any emotion. Portugali argues that in order to change the feeling of the environment and create places and buildings we really feel 'at home' and want to live in, what is needed is not a change of style or fashion, but a transformation of the mechanistic worldview underlying current thought and approaches. Based on Christopher Alexander's basic assumption that behind human architecture there are universal and eternal codes common to us all as human beings, and that there is absolute truth underlying beauty and comfort, Portugali demonstrates how this approach, as well as her unique planning process stemming from it (based on the way things actually exist already on site) generates that common spiritual experience people undergo in buildings endowed with soul, no matter where or from what culture they come from. That she demonstrates through a variety of her buildings and projects (with over 600 color illustrations and drawings), in relation to the physical, cultural and social reality of the place they were planned and built on, an Israeli reality which reflects a unique interface between the orient and the west, a cultural interface she personally represents. The book is valuable to architects, artists, scientists, philosophers and anyone who cares about the quality and beauty of the environment we live in.

ISBN 3936681058   Pages 248 ISBN13 9783936681055 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Edition Axel Menges   Weight (grammes) 1624 Imprint Edition Axel Menges   Published in Fellbach Format Hardback   Height (mm) 280 Publication date 01 May 2006   Width (mm) 220 DEWEY 720.1   Spine width (mm) 28 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Undergraduate

		The architectural concept and its implementation
		Architecture is made for people : a phenomenological approach to architecture		21
		The holistic approach to architecture : the relationship between the parts and the whole		23
		The planning process itself		25
		The beauty is in the detail : the detail - pure functionalism derived from the whole		33
		Choosing the colors for the building		34
		A dialogue between the qualities of tradition and modern technology		35
		Selected buildings and projects
		Public buildings
		Music center and library in Tel Aviv		40
		Ohel Shem community and school library, Ramat Gan		56
		Music library in Tel Aviv		64
		Central city library and resource center in Haifa		70
		Ir Yamim Community Center, Natanya		76
		The Maimonides Central Sephardic Synagogue, Hadera		80
		Memorial Site for the Fallen Intelligence Servicemen, Tel Aviv		86
		The Israel National War Memorial Center, Jerusalem		90
		Senior-Citizens Day Center in Tel Aviv		98
		Residential and mixed developments
		Residential neighborhood in the kibbutz Maagan Michael		116
		Hashomer apartments and shops, Tel Aviv		126
		Student dormitories in Haifa		142
		"Villas City" residential neighborhood, Rishon Lezion		148
		Neighborhood center (shops, synagogue) in Jerusalem		152
		Mobile markets in Ramat Gan, Maalot Tarshicha and Eilat		158
		Master plans
		More...

"There is no other book quite like this one, it really is singular and worthy of your close attention." -- The RIBA Bookshops. "It is not every day that a book is published which describes the world view of an Israeli architect with a fascinating body of work and a structured thesis about how architecture should be practiced here, Such is Nili Portugali's book." -- Books Supplement, 'Ha'aretz', December 13, 2006.

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