Ram Karmi (; 1931 – 11 April 2013) was an Israeli architect. He was head of the

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

-based Ram Karmi Architects company, and is known for his

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

style.

Biography

Ram Karmi was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. His father was architect Dov Karmi. Karmi grew up in Tel Aviv, served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

. He was one of the first soldiers to join the

Nahal Nahal () (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training in entrepr ...

. He studied architecture at the Technion,

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, and

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, academic conference, symposia and publications. Histo ...

, London in 1951–56. His father, Dov Karmi, was also an architect and won the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

in 1957. His sister, the architect Ada Karmi-Melamede, was also awarded the Israel Prize for architecture, in 2007. He was married to Rivka Karmi-Edry with whom he has a son and two daughters. He also has two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage.

Architectural career

Early in his career Ram Karmi was employed in his father's office where he worked on plans for the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

along with the design competition winner Joseph Klarwein. Karmi planned the Negev Center,

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

, in 1960 and

El Al EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd. (), trading as EL AL (, "Upwards", "To the Skies", or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ) is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve ...

building,

, in 1963. He continued his architectural work while lecturing at the Technion, designing the Amal School in Tel Aviv and the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. Yad Layeled - Lochamey Hagetaot 2011-2

According to Karmi, after the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, the changed atmosphere in Israeli society caused him to re-think his brutalist style. In 1974, Karmi voluntarily became the chief architect in the Housing and Construction Minister of Israel, a position he held until 1979, and worked to re-design the near-ubiquitous

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

projects in Israel. 1981 he finished the Hecht Synagogue in Jerusalem. In 1986 Karmi and his sister Ada Karmi-Melamede were invited to participate in the international competition for the design of the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

which they won. The building, designed by Karmi and Karmi-Melamede opened in 1992. ''New York Times'' architecture critic

Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born December 4, 1950)Brennan, Elizabeth A.; Clarage, Elizabeth C''Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Cfp.87on Paul Goldberger

wrote of Karmi's design, "the sharpness of the Mediterranean architectural tradition and the dignity of the law are here married with remarkable grace." Beginning in 2007, Karmi was the architect in charge of renovating the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. History ...

Academic career

Karmi taught at the Technion,

between 1964 and 1994. He lectured at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

. Karmi was a

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

at the School of Architecture of

Ariel University Center of Samaria Ariel University (), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urban Israeli settlement of Ariel (city), Ariel in the West Bank. The college preceding the establishment o ...

Criticism

The massive Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, which Karmi designed along with the architects Tzvi Komet and Ya'el Rothschild, has been criticized over the years for being a difficult to navigate bloated structure which also destroyed the neighborhood it was built in, despite numerous advertising campaigns and improvements. In an interview, Haim Avigal, the CEO of the station from 2005, downplayed the navigation complaints, but said that "if I caught the architect who designed this building, I'd beat him up". In 2010, his renovation of

, which at the time was still under way after three years of development, was fiercely criticized. Karmi was also involved in the Holyland Park project in Jerusalem, which is called the "Monster on the Hill" by many Jerusalemites.

Awards

Karmi won the following awards: *

, 2002 – for architecture. *

Rechter Prize The Rechter Prize is an Israeli architecture prize awarded bi-annually and intended to "encourage landmark projects of Israeli architecture". It was established in 1962 and name in honour of Ze'ev Rechter. References Israeli architecture award ...

: ** 1967 – for the Negev Center in

; ** 1999 – for the Children's Memorial (''Yad LaYeled'') in the

Ghetto Fighters' House The Ghetto Fighters' House ( ''Beit Lohamei Ha-Getaot'', Itzhak Katzenelson Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Heritage Museum, Documentation and Study Center) is a Holocaust museum founded in 1949 by members of Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot. It is loc ...

. * Reinholds Prize, 1969 – for a mixed residential/commercial project in Beersheba. * Rokach Prize: ** 1965 – for the

building in Tel Aviv; ** 1970 – for residential buildings in Be'eri St., Tel Aviv.

Published works

* ''Adrikhalut Lirit'' (''lit.'' Lyric Architecture) (2001).

Israeli Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Defense (, acronym: ) of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Israel from internal and external military threats. Its political head is the defense minister of Israel, ...

References

External links

The Knesset Building in Giv’at Ram: Planning and Construction

by Dr. Susan Hattis Rolef {{DEFAULTSORT:Karmi, Ram 1931 births Jewish architects Israeli architects Israel Prize in architecture recipients Brutalist architects Academic staff of Ariel University Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty University of Houston faculty Columbia University faculty Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni Israeli Jews Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Designers from Tel Aviv 2013 deaths