Page 55 - ISRAEL'S CRADLE

During the architectural competition, Fritz Kornberg was awarded the planning and construction of the school's first building4. Contrary to Kauffmann's intention, the structure was not situated in front of the garden axis but rather diverted westward. Kauffmann also planned a public institution in other neighborhoods, at the end of the garden route. In Beit HaKerem for example, where the David Yellin Teachers' Seminar was built. Upon Kauffmann's suggestion, on the eastern end there were large masses of massive construction that look like a horseshoe facing an internal courtyard, with an additional structure located in front of it. The opening of the complex was supposed to face the Keren Kayemet Street – a proposal that was never carried out.
The announcement of the competition for planning of the National Institutions Building in 1927, which was held in the following year of 1928, was an event of great national and architectural significance. The decision to hold a competition created an opportunity for experienced architects as well as for architects that had to gain experience in the construction of a large-scale office building. The list of the architects, who participated in the competition, indicates that most of the important architects who were active in the Land of Israel participated in it. Over the following years, many of them were able to build quality buildings in the Land of Israel.
Among the jury, the architects were a minority. The other members were representatives of KKL-JNF, Keren Hayesod and the Zionist Executive. The Viennese Jewish architect, Prof. Josef Frank, was chosen to be the leading juror alongside the Jerusalemite Architect, Benjamin Chaikin, who immigrated from Britain. The representatives of the institutions were Menachem Ussishkin, Z. Friedlander, Arthur Hantke, Eliezer Riger, and two representatives of Keren Hayesod who remain anonymous.5 Over thirty proposals were submitted, most of which were preserved in the Central Zionist Archive. Two architects submitted two proposals each and one architect – three, thus the number of plans that were saved is greater than the number of architects. Even today, it is impossible to determine the exact number of the applicants nor does anyone know of a complete list of the judges' names.6
Among the participants were Prof. Alexander Berwald, Richard Kauffmann, Lotte Cohn – who worked with Richard Kauffmann prior to the announcement of the competition, Leopold Krakauer, Fritz Korenberg and Zoltan Harmat, Dov Kutchinsky from Jerusalem; Israel Dicker, Josef Berlin, Ze’ev Berlin and Richard Pacovsky from Tel Aviv; Vamos, Orell and Zohar, Chachkes, Shamivich, Sobelsohn and Berwald from Haifa. According to a story I was told, though I have no way of
4 See Amnon Ramon, Rehavia. A Neighborhood in Jerusalem, ("Doctor Mul Doctor Gar”). Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 2006. See below: Ramon.
5 The administration of the Hebrew Technion in Haifa had complained on April 13, 1928 that not a single representative of the Faculty of Architecture was included among the judges, and expressed its hope that this injustice could still be corrected.
6 An album with photographs of the projects that participated in the competition, has been preserved in the Zionist Archive. The original material was not preserved and it seems that the album also does not include all the submitted proposals. The lack of clarity regarding the number of participants and the judges' names stems from the fact that not all the materials relating to the competition were preserved.
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