Foster + Partners Safra brain center uses passive energy technology for cooling, but not PV panels as originally advertised.
The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is a pioneering research facility for the scientific exploration of the brain. The design incorporated passive energy applications but the photovoltaic skin advertised in the original drafts in 2013 were never implemented.
Physically, the building acts as a gateway between the university campus and city – its dynamic social spaces and laboratory facilities are designed to attract exceptional scientists, as well as to foster an interest in the centre’s research activities within the wider community.
The building is arranged as two parallel wings around a central courtyard. The upper levels house twenty-eight highly flexible laboratories linked by social hubs, which are conceived to encourage interaction and the exchange of ideas between students and staff. At ground floor, there are teaching facilities, a 200-seat auditorium, a library, café and a gallery for the display of brain art.
Foster + Partners in Israel
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Orange trees help passively heat and cool
The courtyard at the heart of the scheme unites these different functions, establishes new circulation routes through the campus and draws the greenery of the surrounding landscape into the building. Planted with citrus trees and with a water feature along its length, the courtyard forms a quiet, reflective space and a cool microclimate, which can be further mediated by a retractable ETFE roof.
The centre’s progressive environmental strategy makes use of passive techniques to naturally reduce energy use. Local materials, such as Jerusalem stone, are utilised where possible, and the building is orientated east-west to reduce solar gain.
The upper three levels are shaded by a perforated aluminium screen, with a pattern derived from the neurological brain structure. Further passive cooling of the building is provided by translucent ETFE canopies to the west and east, which form distinctive markers for the main entrances.
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Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
