Zvi Hecker - Architectural Style

Architectural Style

Zvi Hecker architecture has continued to emphasize geometry and modularity, but with increasing asymmetry. Ramot Polin (1972–75) is a rare prefabricated apartment complex with 720 non-rectangular components. The apartments were expanded later, incorporating more cubic rather than pentagonal components. The design idea of this neighborhood may seem to be the more purely geometrical, however it is likened to a chemical structure, and in plan view to an open hand, and a leaf- therefore imparting it with metaphorical qualities. More examples of advanced geometry in Hecker's work are the Spiral Apartment House in Ramat Gan, (1981–1989), and the Heinz-Galinski-Schule (1992–1995) in Berlin, noted for their high degree of complexity. The Heinz-Galinski-Schule won Zvi Hecker the Deutscher Kritikerpreis in 1995- it was stated that the decision of the jury was based on their appreciation of the "expressive geometry of his construction." The Spiral Apartment House is located adjacent to his earlier Dubiner house, providing a juxtaposition of two important moments in his career. The work of Zvi Hecker has been compared to that of Antonio Gaudi, for expressiveness and expanding of architectural ideas.

More of his later works are the Jewish community center in Duisburg (1996–1999), and with Rafi Segal, the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv (1995–2000). The Duisburg Jewish community center is located on a park, the Garten der Erinnerung designed by Dani Karavan. The community center shares a similar concept to the Page Memorial in its likening to the open pages of a book, and symbolically the Torah of Moses. The Palmach Museum has an angular zig-zag plan positioned around the preservation of trees on the site. It is clad in a local sandstone that was found in excavations for the project. It was exhibited at the Venice Biennale.