Pritzker plaza reflects the way Jerusalem was built. Sculpted from stone, rough or smooth and barely carved, machine-cut or hand-hewn, it is heavy as the earth from which it emerged, or light as a spectral presence.

The vital presence of water is held on the site, wether the thin stream underlines the cuts and curves in the ground, or if water is nothing more than a mirage leaving a trace down the river bed. The stone base plane sharply or concavely cut out subtly uncovers the underground network of water feeding the city.

Bold specimen plants, along with a softly sculpted dune are subordinated to a few mysterious elements including a wall from which water starts to flow out into a stream drying off along its way. Studied angles in space given by the alignment of the stone elements and the low stream of water offer a sense of personal discovery and intimacy. Shapes are thought for children to find the push to run over the dune and experience different perspectives.

A place seen from below, above or within, Pritzker plaza is simultaneously a public space where anyone can spare a moment in his urban circulation, a meeting stage and an environmental sculpture in its full physical reality where the city’s stones are brought to life.

2019