Two ultra-orthodox elementary schools, adjacent to one another, represent a singular challenge: how do we lend physical expression to both the spirit and the educational content of the schools? The educational staff chose the desired themes: the biblical story of Jonah for the girls’ school and the Seven Patriarchs for the boys’ school. How does one turn a story into a place?
The stories served as a platform for a total renewal of the yards of these two older school buildings: an exterior classroom was designed as a whale, with a playground emerging out of a ship, and a musical corner was dedicated to the story of King David. Story has the power to create a new reality.

Client: Nahal Sorek Regional Council, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education
Tsurnamal Bar-Lev Landscape Architecture
Elements design: Dror Eshed
Completed, 2005