17 Oct 2017
Abandoned Jerusalem planetarium to become home for Einstein museum
BY Tom Anstey
An abandoned planetarium in Jerusalem will be converted into a museum dedicated to Albert Einstein as part of a US$5m (€4.2m, £3.8m) project to showcase his personal archives.
Architects Arad Simon are behind the plans, which will see a museum and visitor centre built on Hebrew University's Givat Ram campus in Jerusalem, Israel.
Arad Simon were selected from four local firms, with the university saying the winning proposal was “modest, not grandiose, and it spoke to us”.
According to the plans, the visitor centre will sit inside the dome of the 500sq m (5,381sq ft) building, while the archive and research space will sit in its rectangular area.
An entrance lobby – which will also host temporary exhibitions – will feature Einstein’s historic library, which is designed as a semi-transparent wall of books separating the visitor centre from the archives and research wing. It will also include a retail store and administrative office.
Inside the dome, the building’s floor will be partly excavated, designed as a bowl so visitors can lie down and look up at the planetarium’s ceiling, which will show milestones from Einstein’s life.
In the planetarium’s upper dome, 12 'wells' of light will display the movement of the sun during the day, with the darker area reserved for displays of Einstein’s studies.
The rectangular part of the building will also feature a meeting room, preservation and photography room, and a conference hall.
Working in partnership with the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, the planetarium conversion will become a part of the city’s Museum Row and will benefit from enhanced accessibility thanks to Jerusalem’s new light railway.
No date has been set for work to start on the project, with a capital funding campaign soon to be launched.
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