Ticho House | Tammy Yaniv Architecture

Project Data

Area: 825 sqm

Lot: 1,253 sqm

Client: Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Construction: 2014-2015

Type: Public building, Additions & Intervention in an existing building, Preservation.

Project Text

In the past few decades the 1865-built vaulted stone house has been a branch of the Israel Museum following the death of renowned painter Anna Ticho. The building and its various additions have aged, and an over-all renovation was in order, as well as updating the mechanical systems to make them suited to current contemporary museum needs, while also making the building accessible.

As the house in first and foremost a museum, the galleries were situated on the ground floor while the restaurant was moved to the upper level adjacent to the open terrace.

A leading concept was to differentiate between new additions and the existing structure which was largely preserved . The old trapezoid wood stairs were revealed and wooden windows and shutters as well a wooden pergola were built on the terrace, using historic photographs as refernces.

Newly built elements such as egress stairs, elevators and new structural elements were made of steel and glass in a dark color. Ceiling decorations were revealed during the renovation, and in the spirit of the project were left in their original state with minimal intervention.

A large arch window which was reopened in the main hall allows views to the unique staircase linking the two levels, combining old and new. The main hall leads to the various vaulted gallery spaces which house temporary exhibitions and permanent exhibits of Anna Ticho’s art and the couple’s collections of Judaica. The former surgery now houses a “classic” exhibition space suited to multimedia and video art.

On the back upper level, a small wing that had to be demolished, was rebuilt from light materials referencing the old shed that housed Anna Ticho’s rooftop studio, in clean contemporary lines.

The Renovation allows Ticho House to become an arts and cultural center in the city center, as the less-formal branch of the Israel Museum.