Avraham Yasky ( he, אברהם יסקי; April 14, 1927 – March 28, 2014) was an Israeli

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Biography

Yasky was born in Chişinău,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

(now

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

) on 14 April 1927. He immigrated to the

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

with his family in 1935. Yasky studied at the Technion. Early in his career he worked in the office of

Arieh Sharon Arieh Sharon ( he, אריה שרון; May 28, 1900 – July 24, 1984) was an Israeli architect and winner of the Israel Prize for Architecture in 1962. Sharon was a critical contributor to the early architecture in Israel and the leader of the f ...

. At the age of 25 he made the plans for

Rabin Square Rabin is a Hebrew surname. It originates from the Hebrew word ''rav'' meaning Rabbi, or from the name of the specific Rabbi Abin. The most well known bearer of the name was Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel and Nobel Peace prize Laureate. ...

with Shimon Povsner,Esther Zandberg
''The fountainhead''
Haaretz, 9 April 2007 and later the Tel Aviv City Hall on the square. Early works by Yasky, such as the "quarter-kilometer apartments" of 1960 with Amnon Alexandroni, were primarily of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

. In 1965, Yasky founded the architectural firm now known as Moore Yasky Sivan Architects. From 1987 to 1991 he was an assistant professor at the Technion. In 1994, he established the school of architecture at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

where he was the head of the department until 1998. As of 2006, Moore Yasky Sivan Architects is the largest architecture firm in Israel with 73 employees. With this firm, Yasky contributed significantly to the urban development of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. Projects such as the

Azrieli Center Azrieli Center ( he, מֶרְכָּז עַזְרִיאֵלִי; ''Merkaz Azrieli'') is a complex of skyscrapers in Tel Aviv. At the base of the center lies a large shopping mall. The center was originally designed by Israeli-American architect ...

created a chapter in the city's architectural history that highlighted the

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

and

skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skylines ...

. Later work by Yasky shifted somewhat from the use of concrete, in the era of

brutalist architecture 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 ba ...

, to a brilliant architecture emphasising

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...

, " d yet, he unhesitatingly points to the "gray years" of building the country with exposed concrete - of which he made such widespread and amazing use - as the best period of his life and in the life of Israeli architecture.". Yasky died on March 28, 2014 from

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

at the age of 86.Selmon, Lev 28 March "Architect, Israel Prize laureate Prof. Avraham Yaski dies at 87," Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem) 28 March 2014 captured at 3:09 IST. http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Israeli-archictect-and-Israel-Prize-laureate-Professor-Avraham-Yaski-passed-away-on-Friday-at-the-age-of-87-346799

Awards

In 1982, Yasky was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, in architecture.

References

External links

Fell off a lorry: An interview with architect Avraham Yaski
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasky, Avraham Israeli architects Israel Prize in architecture recipients Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Moldovan Jews 1927 births 2014 deaths People from Chișinău

Biography

Awards

See also

References

Further reading

External links