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A Final Word
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Thirty three years went by from the time that the Knesset building was inaugurated, and the
writing of this article, and there are still those who like the building - including the writer of
this article - which despite its shortcomings has fulfilled its designation successfully, and
those who think that it is the greatest missed opportunity of Israeli architecture - a banal and
confused building.
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| The Knesset building. 1966
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The question whether one should ascribe the building to Joseph Klarwein, or to others,
has also remained open. Ram Karmi himself argues that "what one sees today is exactly
what I planned then", in other words, in the years 1960-61, when at his father's request he
worked with Klarwein in his office.151 At any rate, it is clear that one cannot view Klarwein as
the only one responsible for the building.
Since the building was inaugurated in 1966, a new wing was added, and a substantial
addition is being constructed. In the summer of 1998, and after, extensive renovations were
performed in the building. These have included the replacement of part of the floors on the
second and third floor, which used to be covered with wall to wall carpeting or linoleum, with
shining marble, and significant changes in the ceiling of the plenary hall, so that it is now
almost impossible to see the high ceiling planned by Klarwein through the "guillotines".
One fact cannot be ignored, and it is that the story of the planning of the building, and its
construction - a process that lasted for over ten years - is extremely passionate and very
Israeli. Many energies, both positive and negative, were invested in it. But despite
everything, the building was constructed and completed, and the democratic life of the State
of Israel has been pursued in it in a regular and orderly manner.
151 Interview held by the writer with Ram Karmi, June 14, 1998.
To the next article...
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