Course General Description

The Architecture Department at the Bezalel Academy aspires to be relevant. For this purpose, it develops itself as a leading academic center that promotes studying, applied research, original creation, critical deliberation and active involvement in the fields of architecture, urban design and city life, environmental and landscape design, building and housing culture. The Architecture Department aspires to develop an effective academic structure measured not just by its scholar standards and by the quality of projects created therein, but also by the extent of its influence on the professional culture and public discussion in Israel. This specific commitment to Israeli culture and politics is the source for working relations and dialogs with similar academic and professional institutions around the world.

School General Description

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is an academic college of design and art located in Jerusalem, Israel. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldest institution of higher education. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל בֶּן־אוּרִי), who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:30). The art created by Bezalel's students and professors in the early 1900s is considered the springboard for Israeli visual arts in the 20th century. Bezalel is currently located at the Mount Scopus campus of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with the exception of the Architecture department, which is housed in the historic Bezalel building in downtown Jerusalem. In 2009 it was announced that Bezalel will be relocated to a new campus in the Russian Compound, as part of a municipal plan to revive Jerusalem's downtown. The new Bezalel campus is planned by the Tokyo-based award-winning architectural firm SANAA.