Vladimir Nabokov, was made famous thanks to his acclaimed novel – Lolita. But that wasn't his only achievement; in addition to being an author, he was also a Wellesley College resident lecturer in literature, and later in Cornell University. In a book collecting his lectures from over the years, there is one describing and comparing the description of characters in the traditional novel, versus the same description by Proust. Nabokov claims, that in the traditional novel, the author depicts the characters through their physical being, their physical form, and through the events they experience throughout the novel. However, Proust depicts his characters through a system of memories of the story-teller, and mostly,  though depicting the same characters through other characters. 
This difference emphasizes, clearly, the different approaches in the literature field, but not only that – It shows us the different world-perceptions of our society, in our modern times. The visible-tangible world, versus consciousness, hidden worlds, which are nonetheless important or impactful. The artist tries to bring them to life and express them in our physical world. In accordance to Nabokov's comparison, one can identify the same principals in architecture; One is through the physical form of a building, a space – Its size, its location, its daily purpose, etc. The other is the one that takes architecture as a tool to create a composition that aims to express a hidden world, a world that the architect brings forward to the physical-world. This is a system of principals that bases itself on a free narrative; No limits, no program, no size, nor the whims of any official personal.  

Dear alumni,

Today you're venturing forth to the practical life. During your academic years in our school, we aimed to equip you with both the material and spiritual forms of this profession. Perhaps we favored the spiritual form over the material one, but that was in order to enrich your arsenal with a solid system of knowledge and concepts, which will always be at your disposal. During your day to day life, in the new chapter ahead of you, you will frequently meet with the material form of the profession, perhaps too often; I hope that the values, concepts and knowledge you've received here, will provide you with the tools to overcome any obstacle that may come in your ways, and that you'll be able to create architecture that will make us all proud.

All the very best 
Prof. Gilead Duvshani

Dean School of Architecture

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Dean School of Architecture 

"Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political 

effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance." Václav 

Havel

The tripled connection that exists within creation, society and times, is a complex one, much is the human-being himself. Sometimes, it seems that indeed there's a distinctive connection between the creator and its creation, between the times and the society in which this human lives, and sometimes – in an illogical way – We come across examples that shows that the connection might not be really there. An architecture creation, in a way, is a living being, and just as a human-being, exists in a specific social context, sometimes visible, and sometimes hidden. Not everything has a tangible reason; a person has reasons which are beyond simple ideas, reasons which are anchored in its very existence and the will to create. The reason for the creation is quite like asking about the reason for the work of art, a question that will probably remain unanswered, but most likely, the motive, which is a different aspect from the reason, is the optimism – a creation that is based on the will and hope to change, to put in motion, to excite and communicate with our society and its subjects.

'Architectural Activism' asks to grasp the architecture-discipline, not just as an answer to an existing need and certain commentary that serves our reality, but one that includes the freedom to induce criticism over space and cultural ideas; In language, in representation, in a narrative, between the existing and the dreamt, like Edgar Allan Poe showed in his poems, poems that describes a world within a world, a reality within a constant change, one that vigorously aims to radically change an existing set of values.

This year's projects, presented to you in this catalog, are a result of an intensive theoretical and creative lab-work, one that deals with the new material brought to life as a result of dealing with various locations, asking tough questions about architecture and its meaning, and questions about unique spaces, that carry unique sense of thought.

I would like to seize this opportunity, and thank our staff of teachers, for their endless motivation and investment, but most of all, I would like to thank our students, which curated, designed, produced and brought to life a marvelous and unique exhibition, one that deserves to be a showcase to our architecture school in Ariel University. On a personal note, I would like to wish you our alumni that you gain and win the acknowledgment and respect of intelligent beings on one hand, but the affection of people in general. Always bear appreciation for true beauty, see the good in others, and wherever you come across, and leave a mark, so it will be even just a little better. Find your place in the world, there you will find a true meaning for being yourselves. 
"True freedom is not freedom from constraint, but rather to be constrained only by 

one really is, by one's essence."  Karsten Harries

Wishing you a splendid journey

Itzik Elhadif, Architect

Vice-dean School of Architecture

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course coordinator