Jerusalem is one of the most ancient and fascinating cities in the world, thanks to its history and its capability to attract people and consequently hold large international events.
For this reason Italian Studio Fuksas has been selected to design the new International Congress Center (ICC) of Jerusalem, which will be located in the City Gateway, a district characterized by the presence of financial, commercial, cultural, tourist and entertainment activities, destined to become the new gateway to the city.
The new complex will be built around the existing Ussishkin Hall Building, which will be redesigned to host international shows and conferences: thanks to this expansion, the ICC will become the largest conference center in the Middle East, insisting on an area of 270,000 square meters.
The project includes: a Congress Center; a hotel of 10 floors, which will house about 800 rooms; a 6-10 floors office building with sharing spaces, co-working and ateliers; two business towers, 36 floors high, which will be built on the southwest side of the lot, next to the square; residences; spaces for shopping which will be built on the ground floors of the buildings and along the main public roads; an underground car park which will allow private and public vehicles to stop, facilitating the loading and unloading of goods; a large square as a meeting point in the north of the area on Sderot Shazar, which will be connected to the surrounding streets by pedestrian public passages.
In addition to pedestrian, cycle and vehicular access, the site will be also easily accessible via transport infrastructures that lead directly to the ICC Jerusalem, even from the Ben Gurion airport.
Particular attention was paid to the sustainability of the structures in terms of energy savings, the life cycle of the products, the healthiness of the interior spaces, the choice of materials, the harmony with the surrounding urban context and the organization of the routes inside of the project: green spaces and covered routes will allow pleasant walks and breaks in the area, while the use of local stone for facade cladding allows the complex to integrate perfectly into the surrounding context.
In conclusion, thanks to Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas’ contribute, the ICC will become one of the most important public areas of the city of Jerusalem and the whole State of Israel.
