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The Work of Gillitt and Ruegg
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After the plan prepared by Ram Karmi and Gillitt was accepted, Gillitt was appointed
coordinating architect of the project, and was employed by Ma'atz.7 Until the death of Dov
Karmi, Gillitt worked together with a team of around eight persons in an office situated in a
structure that was about 100 meters away from the building site.8 At every stage of the
planning he brought the plans for the approval of Dov Karmi and Klarwein, and received
from them new ideas and feed back from them. He had many differences of opinion with
Klarwein, who according to him, constantly tried to revert to his original plan. Karmi usually
acted as a mediator. Gillitt continued to work on the project after Karmi's sudden death in
May 1962. According to him, Emanuel Friedman, the Ma'atz engineer, who was
responsible for the execution of the plan, asked him whether in his opinion it was necessary
to bring a replacement for Karmi, and his answer had been that it was not necessary,
because the basic planning had more or less been completed.
According to Gillitt, the method of work on the Knesset building project was what is
known today as "fast-track", in other words, there is no complete work plan before the
construction begins, and at every stage work plans are prepared for the next stage of the
project, and passed on to the builders. So, for example, on a series of photographs that he
sent to Gillitt on May 8, 1963, Ruegg noted that preparations for the protruding roof of the
building was in about to begin, even though it was still not clear what height the roof would
be. The engineer Eliezer Segal noted that this method of work, and the frequent changes
put into the plans, served the interests of Solel Boneh well. He commented that in order to
win this prestigious project Solel Boneh had bid a low price in the tender, and if it hadn't
been for all the changes in the plan, the construction company would have lost a lot of
money.
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| The Knesset building site in 1961 looking southwards, with two giant cranes, and the track on which they moved. Photographer: Bill Gillitt
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Ruegg joined the project in the summer of 1961, more than a year before Gillitt left. Like
Gillitt he also claimed that the general plans for the building had been more or less
completed before Dov Karmi's death.9 Nevertheless, according to him at the end of 1962
there were still several serious basic contradictions in the plans, especially regarding the
roof. (See bellow) At this stage, he added, the only thing that remained of Klarwein's
original plan was the basic idea of "a classic structure at the top of a hill". Regarding the
plan prepared by Ram Karmi and Gillitt (which he attributed primarily to Karmi) he claimed
that the “a classical building was placed on levels of glass" was peculiar.
Ruegg's feelings about Klarwein were mixed. After having worked with him for almost a
year Ruegg had decided to leave him, it was difficult to get on with “the old crocodile". Why
did he choose to call Klarwein an old crocodile? "He was very tough with people, but he
was a type who could feel terribly sorry for himself", Ruegg replied in Hebrew. Even though
he claimed to have learnt nothing professionally from Klarwein, Ruegg did learn from him
one "how to present a plan for the contractor on a single page".
Ruegg remained with the project until the end of 1964, and he had some interesting
comments to make regarding progress in the planning and construction. In the second half
of 1962 and in the course of 1963, Klarwein had introduced several significant changes in
the plans left by Dov Karmi, and Ruegg, like Gillitt until he left, did everything in his power to
obstruct these intentions. He was especially angry with Ram Karmi for preferring to
concentrate on fighting the Knesset over a financial claim than on defending his own plans.
Ruegg describes the year 1964 as the year in which "Klarwein and Dora Gad devoured
each other", which was the main reason for his own decision to leave the project, and
return to Switzerland.
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| Work on the Knesset building before the roof was cast. Photographer: Hans Ruegg
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7 According to Gillitt, to the best of his memory, at this stage Ram Karmi was no longer involved in the project.
8 Both Gillitt and Ruegg mentioned a young Israeli architect, who had worked as part of the professional team on the project - Ruth Melamed.
9 He gave evidence in this spirit at a trial that took place in 1963 on a claim by the Karmi family against the Knesset, over money that it claimed the Knesset owed it. The Ma'atz engineer, Emanuel Friedman, on the other hand, argued that the plans had not been completed.
Continued...
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