Hadassa SelaB.Arch Graduate

01 / 05

SILVA hotel

Sheet 01 · Hotel & public garden atrium

Rendering of two glass towers with cascading planted terraces facing a shared void, people on curved walkways below — The planted void between the towers

Two slender towers, a carved void, and a bridge of suites above the city.

A hotel split into two towers around a planted void. Every room borders a garden; at street level the void opens as a public winter garden.

Programme: Hotel with public garden atrium
Setting: Dense tower district
Key element: Carved void & sky bridge
Status: Academic studio project
Study: Solar radiation analysis

Ten moves from envelope to carved void

Form development, step 1: the plot highlighted within the tower grid

Form development, step 2: the full permitted volume on the plot

Form development, step 3: the base opened toward the street

Form development, step 4: the volume split into two towers

Form development, step 5: a curved void traced between the towers

Form development, step 6: the void carved through the base

Form development, step 7: one tower is raised to mark the street corner

Form development, step 8: the inner faces stepped into terraces

Form development, step 9: a bridge links the two towers

Form development, step 10: terraces continue across the void

Form development diagram

01
The plot within the tower grid.
02
The permitted envelope.
03
The base is opened toward the street.
04
The volume is split into two slender towers.
05
A route is traced between them.
06
The route is carved into a public void.
07
One tower rises to mark the corner.
08
The inner faces step back into planted terraces.
09
A bridge of suites links the towers.
10
Terraces continue across the void.

A green pause in a grey tower district

Two site analysis maps of the surrounding streets: on the left traffic flows, the Ayalon highway and green links toward Yarkon Park; on the right the sun path and the prevailing winds over the plot — Site analysis · traffic and green links, sun and wind

Aerial rendering of the two planted towers among plain white office blocks — Aerial view

Rendering of the towers from above, terraces full of trees against the surrounding grey massing — Within the massing

Floor by floor, the terraces climb the void

Axonometric of the ground floor: a planted public garden between the two tower footprints — Ground floor

Axonometric drawing of level 03, showing hotel rooms arranged along the planted inner terraces — Level 03

Axonometric drawing of level 17, showing the upper rooms and the terraces narrowing toward the bridge — Level 17

Axonometric drawing of level 21, showing the bridge of suites spanning between the two towers — Level 21

Section A-A through the two towers, showing the carved void, terraces and the bridge of suites — Section A-A · the void runs through both towers

Every room opens onto its own garden

Rendering of the glazed ground-floor atrium, a circular planted void with people walking through — Public atrium

Rendering of a hotel suite opening onto a dense planted terrace — Suite

Rendering of a hotel room with a stone bar, bed and a balcony with the city beyond — Room

The sun decides where the gardens grow

Solar study · warmer colours, more sun

Florentin Residences

Sheet 02 · Housing, Florentin

Rendering of a stacked, terraced apartment building on a street corner, planted balconies and a glazed café at ground level — The corner: a loose stack of garden rooms

A façade that reads as a loose stack of garden rooms rather than a single wall.

Carved, shifted and stacked so every apartment gains a planted terrace. A central atrium brings daylight deep inside; a café opens to the street.

Programme: Multi-family housing with ground-floor café
Setting: Florentin, Tel Aviv
Key element: Central atrium & planted terraces
Status: Academic studio project
Phase: Design & construction documentation

It began with sketches of shared gardens

Hand-drawn sketches: four apartment plans with trees drawn in the courtyards, and perspective sketches of a planted terrace, a passage and a glazed garden — Hand sketches · homes around shared gardens

One gridded block, shifted until every home breathes

Form development, step 1: the permitted envelope as a solid gridded cube

Form development, step 2: the grid pushed and pulled into separate units

Form development, step 3: units shifted to create terraces

Form development, step 4: the final stack with a diagonal void through it

Form development diagram

01
The permitted envelope as a gridded volume.
02
The grid is divided into apartment-sized units.
03
Units shift in and out; every setback becomes a terrace.
04
A diagonal void opens the stack for light and a shared garden.

Shared rooms on the roof and around the atrium

Rendering of the rooftop: a timber pergola, white sofas, a tree and a glazed gym with the city skyline beyond — Public space within the building

Rendering of a tall atrium lounge with planted terraces, brass railings and full-height glazing — Atrium

Four homes around one visible core

Ground floor plan with café seating, planters and the core — Ground floor plan

Level 01 plan with four apartments around the core — Level 01 plan

Level 02 plan with apartments and planted setbacks — Level 02 plan

Inside, every room looks onto green

Interior rendering of a living room with a glazed wall onto a planted courtyard and a stair — Living room

Interior rendering with marble floor, white sofas and a terrace with city views — Interior 01

Interior rendering of a lounge beside a glazed winter garden with a flowering tree — Interior 02

Rendering of a ground floor lounge with a glazed planted room and a timber door — Garden lounge

Rendering of a sunlit courtyard with timber screens, planters and people — Courtyard

Elevation rendering with terraces, trees and warm evening light — Garden elevation

From studio idea to construction drawings

A later course took the design into full construction drawings.

Drawing set — 10 sheets

Construction sheet 1, site and development plan showing the plot, pavements and planting — 01 Site plan

Construction sheet 2, ground floor plan showing the café, lobby and vertical core — 02 Ground floor

Construction sheet 3, typical floor plan showing four apartments around the core — 03 Typical floor

Construction sheet 4, roof plan showing the pergola, planting and drainage falls — 04 Roof plan

Construction sheet 5, west elevation showing the stepped volumes and timber screens — 05 West elevation

Construction sheet 6, south elevation showing terraces, balustrades and planting — 06 South elevation

Construction sheet 7, section A-A through the atrium with floor levels and annotations — 07 Section A-A

Construction sheet 8, section B-B through the apartments and the stair core — 08 Section B-B

Construction sheet 9, stair plans and sections with riser and tread dimensions — 09 Stair

Construction sheet 10, wall and stair construction details at large scale — 10 Details

The Third Space

Sheet 03 · Public space study

Aerial rendering of a cluster of angled low-rise buildings linked by bridges, wrapped around planted courtyards and a public plaza, set among plain city blocks — Low buildings, bridges and courtyards around a plaza

Shared, in-between space for the city.

An urban ensemble in Holon, built from the leftover spaces between streets, blocks and routes.

Courtyards, bridges and passages make a public ground that belongs to everyone.

Setting: Holon
Scale: Urban ensemble
Discipline: Urban design

Where the movement of the city meets

Dark map of the city with red arrows showing the main movement along the axis toward the site — Movement along the axis

Dark map of the surrounding neighbourhoods shaded in tones of green, with a legend — Neighbourhoods around the site

Dark map with the buffer zone between districts marked in red along the roads — The buffer between districts

From today’s street edge to a 2040 section

Three existing street sections: low buildings, trees and wide roads — Existing street sections

Three proposed street sections for 2040, with taller buildings in red outline and a shared ground marked in red — Street sections, Holon 2040

Courtyards threaded through the ground floor

Ground floor plan of the ensemble with planted courtyards and passages, set in the street grid — Ground floor plan, 1:500

Level minus one plan of the ensemble, outlined in red, with green courtyards cut through it — Level −1 plan, 1:500

Long cuts through the whole ensemble

Long section A-A through the ensemble, floors outlined in red — Section A-A

Long section B-B through the ensemble, floors outlined in red — Section B-B

Long section C-C through the ensemble, floors outlined in red — Section C-C

Rooms that open onto the courtyards

Rendering of a courtyard between glazed buildings, a green roof sweeping across the middle — A planted roof over the courtyard

Rendering of a lounge under a deep timber ceiling grid, opening to a planted courtyard — Lounge under the timber grid

Rendering of wide timber seating steps beside tall windows onto a garden — Seating steps by the garden

Reading Power Station – preservation & adaptive reuse

Sheet 04 · Preservation & adaptive reuse

Rendering at golden hour: the tall chimney of the Reading Power Station beside its renovated halls, with planted courtyards, lawns and paths, the city skyline beyond — The chimney and its halls, given a new use

A power station on the shore becomes a public centre.

A cultural and leisure centre that joins heritage with everyday life: sport, learning, offices and dining in the old halls.

An open place for the whole city, with the chimney as its landmark.

Programme: Public, cultural & leisure centre
Setting: Reading Power Station, Tel Aviv
Approach: Preservation & adaptive reuse

A landmark on the Tel Aviv shore

Map of the surroundings of the Reading Power Station on the Tel Aviv shore — The site between the river mouth and the sea

How the station grew, and how people will move

Axonometric diagram of the station in its park with the building phases numbered — The station’s building phases

Axonometric diagram of the station with the movement routes through it highlighted — Routes through the complex

Keep the shell, open the inside

Exploded isometric: the station split into floors, each programme in its own colour, the chimney beside them — Exploded isometric of the new programme

Sectional axonometric through the station and chimney, kept and removed parts shown — Cut B-B: kept and removed

Second sectional axonometric through the station, kept and removed parts shown — Cut C-C: kept and removed

Floor by floor, from the turbine hall up

Ground floor plan of the station in its park — Ground floor

Plan of level 1 of the station in its park — Level 1

Plan of level 3 of the station — Level 3

Plan of level 8 of the station — Level 8

The turbines stay, as landmarks inside

Rendering of a tall atrium with balconies on every floor and old turbines on a chequered floor — The turbine atrium

Rendering of a library on galleries around the old turbines — Library around the turbines

Rendering of the entrance hall with concrete columns, planters and seating — Entrance hall

Rooms for learning, gathering and sport

Rendering of a full conference hall with tall windows — Conference hall

Rendering of a gym beside an indoor pool with the city beyond — Gym and pool

Rendering of offices on galleries around the turbine hall — Offices on the galleries

Rendering of a long glazed hall with people and a view over the sea — Hall with a view

Rendering of a wide glazed stair looking out over the park — Stairs to the park

Rendering of a new glazed stair on the outside of the halls, with lawns and paths — A new glass stair outside

Up to the roof, out to the sea

Rendering of a planted roof garden with paths and the chimney — Roof garden

Rendering of the chimney and the station beside the sea, with lawns — The chimney and the sea

Night rendering of the lit station and chimney, the city lights beyond — After dark, the chimney still marks the shore

Learning within the fracture

Sheet 05 · Learning & residential campus

The fracture, initially perceived as an obstacle, becomes an opportunity.

A learning and living campus on a desert valley slope. Buildings climb from the valley floor, weaving paths, stairs and terraces where people meet.

A terracotta Mashrabiya screen filters light, views and sound between them.

Programme: Learning & residential campus
Setting: Desert valley slope
Key element: Perforated terracotta Mashrabiya
Status: Academic studio project

Three-step conceptual diagram: a cube, the cube split into fragments, and the fragments with the fracture surfaces highlighted in terracotta — Conceptual Diagram

Rendering of white terraced buildings with perforated terracotta screens stepping down a red desert valley — Terraces stepping down a desert valley

Buildings climb the valley, step by step

Section A-A through the stepped buildings on the valley slope, shared spaces marked in orange — Section A-A

Section B-B through the buildings, with the slope rising to the left — Section B-B

A labyrinth of rooms, stairs and terraces

Scanned hand-drawn ground floor and first floor plans at 1:100, a chain of angular rooms linked by stairs — Floor plans, drawn by hand at 1:100

A terracotta screen between seen and hidden

Mashrabiya wall — assembly detail

Enlarge drawing

1.Concrete / block wall with external insulation and plaster finish
2.Aluminum support profile
3.Perforated terracotta screen bricks / blocks
4.Spacers
5.Metal base profile
6.Vertical support rod

Built by hand in cardboard and basswood

Physical model of the project: layered cardboard terrain with white volumes and perforated screens — Model 01

Close-up of the model showing a unit with a lattice screen and stairs — Model 02

Overview of the model: the chain of buildings following the contours of the slope — Model 03

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About

Hadassa Sela

Architectural designer. Learning spaces, housing, hospitality and adaptive reuse, always looking for the threshold where private meets public.

Each project is told through its drawings, in the order it was made.

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CV: Download (PDF)