The Cushion Wall

National Library of Israel, Jerusalem

2023

The Cushions Wall is a central element in the new building of Israel’s National Library (Architects: Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, Basel Ltd). It consists of two walls, each approximately 50 meters long and made up of over 800 upholstered cushions. The design process involved extensive research and concept development, the design and creation of the fabric, and the layout of the entire wall. The design concept merges the book as a vessel of culture and spirit, as well as a physical object, with the local landscape of Jerusalem and its surroundings, and is based on my previous work, “The Libraries” (2011). This work served as the foundation for the development of the fabrics and the overall aesthetic of the wall. The textile engineering emphasized the tactility and relief quality of the fabrics, ensuring they would appear different up close and from a distance. From afar, the stripes can be interpreted as pages of a book or layers of sandstone, while up close, visitors can "read" them as lines of text.  Photography: Roni Cnaani