National Center for Post Trauma and Resilience
Designed by: Erez Shani Architecture
The project was designated as both a research and treatment center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The unique programme and the project’s location along George S. Wise Street, provided an opportunity for a plan which interacts with the street, yet provides privacy and intimacy. The chosen architectural scheme was an L shaped building, stretching one arm along the street and another along the campus’s entrance boulevard.
The center and the neighboring Naftali Building enclose a courtyard. In order to expose it to the campus, the ground floor was planned with a minimal footprint. Its public functions - including the lobby and conference room - are transparent, facing the street and displaying the activities held in the building.
The entrance hall leads to the core of circulation, at the joint of the two perpendicular wings. On the floors above ground are located the various functions, arranged according to privacy and accessibility requirements. The 1st floor contains the clinic and therapy rooms, and the 2nd and 3rd hold the researchers’ offices and labs. All floors are connected by two atriums, enabling random encounters between researchers, students and visitors.