After four year’s construction work, on January 31 the Design Museum Holon will be opened outside Tel Aviv. It was designed by industrial designer and architect Ron Arad, who grew up in Israel. It was his very first commercial architecture project.

The briefing stated that his task was to dream up a building with a highly iconic character that could also be presented on a commemorative postage stamp. The building will be inaugurated six weeks before the opening of its first exhibition. In the meantime, it will be closed again for the exhibition's preparation.

The most striking feature of the museum are five bands of Corten steel, each of a different color, that wind round the two volumes and bulge up to form a gateway. Ron Arad comments: “We created a hierarchy of outdoor spaces so you walk in under the building into a semi-covered yard, where you have a choice to take the air-conditioned route or one exposed to the elements. The building envelope is not just a pretty space; it’s also a structure.” Two sections containing the museum rooms proper are integrated into the curved volume. Alongside the two main halls there is also space for additional exhibition rooms, a design lab and an archive.

The museum is set to pull the crowds not only thanks to its architecture but also its internationally focused program. The latter will be made up of touring exhibitions and shows created by international curators specially for Holon. The first exhibition entitled "The State of Things: Design and the 21st Century" is due to open March 4, presenting a broad range of products from ordinary household items such as plastic chairs and printed wallpaper to life-enhancing and life-saving technologies, such as a jewel-like hearing aid and a water filtration device. The broad range of the selected products is to demonstrate the pervasion of design trough almost all aspect of life.

The new museum is part of an initiative that seeks to turn Holon, hitherto known mainly as Israel’s second largest industrial hub, into a center of culture and exhibitions.

ronarad.com
dmh.org.il