The first architectural archive in Israel is a laboratory where researchers can encounter professional collections – certificates, lists, rare drawings, maps, historical photographs, and documents – that hold a treasure trove of knowledge of cities, landscapes, and buildings in the local context. This is the beating heart of the research center that promotes lively discourse around a past that’s manifesting here and now.
We believe that producing knowledge about the built environment is a public and civil right and duty. The expertise, creativity, and technology inherent to spatial design affect the lives of all residents. This knowledge of acting artifacts from the past elucidates design practices in the present and participates in the production of the spaces we inhabit.
The center hosts conferences, workshops, initiatives, and research in history, theory, and spatial design. It acts as a platform for building academic networks, curating rare collections, and publishing books that provide various lenses which illuminate space to a diverse public.