
CISTERN
A historic building for conservation which includes an art gallery with existing vaults and another floor for offices.
At the ground floor there is a 22-meter-long and about 5-meter high barrel vault that was used as a water reservoir during the ottoman period.
The area of the project is one acre. The area of the entire building is about 1500 m2 and the area of the water hole is about 100 m2. The project includes the conservation of the vault and the outer walls. The walls at the northern façade are about 1.5 meter thick. About 7 openings were made for windows and doors to let natural light in.
The openings were made by installing upper steel beams from each side of the wall's section and connecting them with steel rods. Also, the vault was reinforced with stainless steel cables in several points.
Type
Conservation, Restoration, Offices
Locations
Haifa
Client
Private

Atop the vault there is a gallery with two skylight windows that let in light from above, illuminating the two ends of the vault.
The design of the interior, which is meant for offices, was done with glass and steel partitions and with steel beams only. The AC and lighting systems were designed to be exposed.
The design is minimal and was made to preserve and emphasize the vault and the existing space. As mentioned, the translucent partitions were made with glass and steel. At the front entrance a stone paved yard was designed including steel railing.







