efeller Museum designed in the 1930s — acknowledge the local scale and forms even when they introduced modern
European styles and technologies. During the British Mandate (1918-1947), regulations imposed green space around
the Old City and restricted buildings’ height and construction materials. Buildings had to be faced in Jerusalem stone;
corrugated iron was banned.
At least one of those regulations is maintained. New buildings are
inevitably sheathed in a thin veneer of Jerusalem stone. But most
of the old regulations are ignored. Green space is disappearing. The
parkland opposite Jaffa Gate has been occupied by grotesque park-
ing decks and architecturally offensive luxury accommodation for
the very wealthy (Fig. 6). The condos there are largely abandoned by
their rich, non-resident Jewish owners for most of the year, contrib-
uting to the death of the economy in the part of the city that should be most vital. The Jerusalem Hilton (now the Crowne
Plaza), which annulled the city code on building height in 1974, initiated the meaningless western skyline of Jerusalem,
punctuated ungrammatically by characterless monoliths (See Figs. 1 and 7). Unfortunately, cheaply constructed pom-
posities, built without reference to the scale of their neighborhood and with no conscience about their affect on distant
views of the city, characterize post-1967 building in the city. Who could possibly find a particle of aesthetic pleasure
in the twin tour group hotels, the Olive Tree and the Novotel, looming over St. George’s
Cathedral in East Jerusalem? Indeed, state construction (e.g., the Ministry of Justice), as
well as speculative Israeli ventures in East Jerusalem seem intentionally ugly.
Jerusalem has at least one good postmodern building: the Supreme Court, designed by
Ram Carmi and Ada Carmi-Melamed, opened in 1992 (Fig. 7). The plan and scale of the
building were inspired by the Alhambra and the Rockefeller Museum: at its core is an
elegantly proportioned courtyard bisected by a narrow stream running almost its entire
length. The structure is less about gravitas than about intimacy. It provides the law a
deeply human habitat, whether or not it deserves it.
Jerusalem is a place to feel passionate about architecture — about its beauty, about its
aura, and about its abuse. For those who are moved by architecture, Jerusalem offers a remarkable roller-coaster ride.
Figure 7: Supreme Court, court-
yard.Wharton...
Figure 6: View from Jaffa Gate to the west.