Conservation at the Institute

The Weizmann Institute of Science preserves the historic structures and compounds while addressing ongoing needs related to the development and progress of science, fully understanding the importance of conservation and its significance to the Institute's visitors, graduates and the State of Israel's built heritage.

Each of the historic buildings marked for preservation is involved in Israel's scientific development – from Dr. Chaim Weizmann's laboratory in Daniel Sieff Research Institute and the invention of the acetone; through the development of WEIZAC, Israel's first computer in the Jacob Ziskind Building; the Koffler Accelerator and the Weissman Building of Physical Sciences, in which atomic energy was studied; and others.

In addition to the historic buildings, the campus encompasses several historic landscape sites that encapsulate the Institute, and represent its landscape heritage.

There are 24 buildings / sites for preservation at the Institute. The Construction and Engineering Division is required to renovate and refurbish buildings and sites designated for preservation from time to time. Such work is carried out according to strict standards, with sensitivity and historic responsibility.

Weizmann House

Architect: Erich Mendelsohn, 1936

The Weizmann family residence is a three-story building above a partial basement floor. The house plan is a cluster of rectangular areas that, together, create a large rectangle also expressed as a cubistic volume structure. A recess at the center of the structure creates a courtyard with a west-facing reflection pool that together allow in the sea breeze and helps lower the house temperature. The staircase tower located on the eastern side of the patio is reflected by the pool's water, doubling and intensifying the building's central vertical motif. The tower's spiraling stone steps create a circular motion and are accompanied by wrought iron and brass railings. The house plan is Mediterranean in character and is organized around a central courtyard: the large vertical openings facing the patio bring light and air into the house and were shutterless in design. By contrast, the small windows in the perimeter walls inject a small amounts of light into the rooms and strengthen the structure's fortified outward appearance. The building is situated atop a hill overlooking the coastal plain, which had been a decisive consideration in selecting the building's location. The landscape design and architecture are combined – the terraces on the slopes were originally all curved, wave-like, simulating a sailing ship. Access to the main entrance is through a road that weaves through the lawn, deliberately extending the inwards route. This "trip," designed for vehicle entry, commands a slow-paced ride and allows various views on the estate and house. The estate includes the house, the well, the guard house, and the garden itself, which also holds the grave of Chaim and Vera Weizmann. The Construction and Engineering Division is currently leading extensive renovations in the building and the compound surrounding Yad Weizmann.

Weizmann House

Architect: Erich Mendelsohn, 1936

Europe House

Architect: Yakov Rechter and Moshe Zarhy, 1974

Europe House is a double-winged residential building housing retired and visiting scientists. Its two-story southern wing and three-story northern wing, which also includes a partial basement, hold a total of 24 apartments of three types. The difference in the number of floors between the wings arises from the utilization of the terrain's northerly descending slope. Located at the campus's south-eastern part, near a city street (Hanassi Harishon), the building is a part of a residential complex that also includes the Lunenfeld-Kunin Residences for Visiting Scientists, situated to its western side. The longitudinal structure consists of a large number of cast concrete geometric structures of different sizes, arranged in two wings and connected by an open green courtyard that runs the length of the building and a vertical motion system. The building's large dimensions (40 × 63 m) are made practically imperceptible by its puzzle-like structure, which creates numerous views and situations both inside and outside the building during the different hours of the day, and also by three openings that serve as entrances to the inner lane and housing apartments.

Europe House

Architect: Yakov Rechter and Moshe Zarhy, 1974

The Daniel Sieff Research Institute

Architect: Benyamin Chaikin, 1934

The first building of the Sieff Research Institute, to be renamed later (1949) the Weizmann Institute of Science. The building's purpose was to house Dr. Chaim Weizmann's organic chemistry laboratory, which would serve the development of modern agriculture. The two-story structure was built in a classic/eclectic style with a symmetrical façade divided into three wings, which are decorated by a cornice around the perimeter. The building is slightly elevated from the ground and entrance to it is by ascending wide steps from the central wing. The large, double-winged entrance door is reinforced by surrounding plaster frames. The Carrera marble floors in the building's interior spaces are decorated with black marble. The central staircase is situated across from the front door and its windows allow light into the entrance hall. The staircase is decorated with iron and woodwork. The building was painted in two shades, emphasizing the windows and the upper cornice.

The Daniel Sieff Research Institute

Architect: Benyamin Chaikin, 1934

Koffler Accelerator of the Canada Centre of Nuclear Physics

Architect: Moshe Harel, 1975

The Koffler Accelerator of the Canada Centre of Nuclear Physics has become an architectural symbol of the Weizmann Institute and is its most prominent structure, along with the Solar Tower. The structure is formed by two white-painted concrete towers, rising to 57 and 53 meters from the ground, which are decorated with some humor, in the space-age style of the period's architecture and cinema. The two towers are connected by six bridges, and each of them has serves a distinct function. One tower holds the vertical movement – stairs and ramps with three-dimensional outward expression. The second tower contains the vertical accelerator that descends to the basement of the building. The top of this tower is an egg-shaped structure with large windows. It has a 15-cm-thick shell and was built in an impressive engineering and design feat. The building was recently painted white, conforming to its original design. The interior was left as exposed concrete, enforcing the structure's "machine" function. Recently, the upper floor was renovated and now serves as an observation center and a conference hall.

Koffler Accelerator of the Canada Centre of Nuclear Physics

Architect: Moshe Harel, 1975

The Daniel Wolf Building

Architect: Erich Mendelsohn, 1941

This is the campus's second research building, planned in close proximity to the original Daniel Sieff Research Institute. The complex includes two separate buildings designated for applied chemistry research laboratories and workshops. The (eastern) laboratory structure is rectangular and long, one-story tall with a horizontally silhouetted straight roof whose protruding edges are highlighted by another floor, and, on its southern side, also by a chimney. The workshop structure is shorter in length and taller, with a vaulted concrete ceiling in a hyperbolic section. A pathway ran between the two buildings and was entered from the north. An area in the southern part of the complex was designated for a future garage, to connect to a planned building (today, the Ziskind Building). In 1998, the complex was renovated, with the eastern building almost completely rebuilt in a different format. The western structure preserved its shape, but its openings and finishing materials were replaced. Recently, the interior of the building was renovated and adapted to the needs of the laboratory it houses.

The Daniel Wolf Building

Architect: Erich Mendelsohn, 1941

Lunenfeld-Kunin Residences for Visiting Scientists

Architect: Yakov Rechter and Moshe Zarhy, 1964

The Lunenfeld-Kunin Residences for Visiting Scientists is a two-story residential building with a partial basement floor, containing multiple apartments. It is located in the south-eastern part of the Weizmann Institute campus, close to Hanassi Harishon Street and is part of a residential complex that also includes Europe House, to its east. The longitudinal structure consists of a many geometric structures of different sizes, arranged in two wings and connected by an open green courtyard that runs the length of the building, and a vertical motion system. The building's large dimensions (45 × 54 m) are made practically imperceptible by its puzzle-like structure, which creates numerous views and situations both inside and outside the building during the different hours of the day. The structure is built of bare concrete that uses the material and lack thereof (i.e., space, light, and shade) equally, with innumerable details that endow the building with uniqueness.

Lunenfeld-Kunin Residences for Visiting Scientists

Architect: Yakov Rechter and Moshe Zarhy, 1964

The Charles Clore International House

Architect: Arieh Elhanani and Nissan Canaan, 1963

The Charles Clore International House is a three-story building for student dormitories atop a ground-floor foyer with a basement and an English courtyard. Its location on the border between the Institute and a residential neighborhood of the city of Rehovot provides a unique urban-architectural situation, enabling pedestrian entry into the Institute through the building. This is one of the two main entrances; the other is through an impressive garden on the Institute's grounds. Thus, the building has two meticulously kept façades with maximal exposure. The building was designed in the spirit of Brutalism and incorporates typical period materials – exposed concrete, wood, glass, terrazzo tiles, and iron. The ground floor serves as a common area, mostly facing the outdoor greenery beyond the glass wall towards the campus side. A large inner patio at the center of the building upwards from the second floor serves as an open space that ventilates the stair and corridor areas. Two staircases (on both sides of the inner patio), as well as an elevator installed in recent years, serve dormitory residents.

The Charles Clore International House

Architect: Arieh Elhanani and Nissan Canaan, 1963