The Design Museum - Holon

April 2018 is the last month of the current exhibition, "Je t'aime.." at the Design Museum in the city of Holon (they usually change exhibitions every few months).
So, soon after  Passover holiday , I rushed to the museum 'to catch'  the above mentioned exhibition which had stirred up my curiosity.

exhibition Sign from the  direction of the parking lot

The exhibition is dedicated to Ronit Elkabetz, actress and filmaker in Israel and in France. She died two years ago at the age of 52 in battle with cancer. Her untimely death came as a surprise as very few knew she was ill. 

Her younger brother, Shlomi Elkabetz, is the art director of this exhibition which focuses on art and fashion connection as seen in the world of his late sister and co-worker. 


Outside the museum, several posters let people know about the exhibition and its subject.

poster regarding exhibition on the facade of the Cinematheque

 name of exhibition and face of the actress in the inner courtyard

The building of the museum (architect Ron Arad) in itself, is definitely worth a visit. It is considered as one of the most original architectonic achievements of the early 21st  century. The outer structure, the 'envelope', is just mind- blowing.

outer structure - five steel bands arranged in a wavy format

inside video with the architect's words on the process

Five bands of corten steel that surround most of the museum's facades are arranged in an undulating way, and change color (shades of red, brown, orange) .The inside is compact and modest. It comprises two main exhibition halls, one upstairs , one downstairs, a staircase linking between the two (there's a lift too), and an entrance floor with offices and two additional spaces for exhibits.
There's a sort of inner courtyard, partly covered, leading to the entrance. The museum also hosts an archive of design materials opened to the public.

color shades

to the entrance

The museum (opened in 2010) is located in a culture area, named Mediatheque, that includes a central library, a youth theater center, a cinematheque, and nearby , the design faculty of the Holon Institute of Technology. The museum is next to road, across from a shopping mall and some residential areas.

adjacent Mediateque

Mall with tower clock across the museum

On the exhibition "Je T'aime...", hopefully, in my next post.

High -Tech at Bus Stops

I'm a great believer in solar power. I've already mentioned that in a previous post called "Go Solar" (Nov.2009). We all have here solar water heaters on the roof which are remarkably efficient. I've also got  solar weighing scales, a variety of solar little gadgets, and  books on the subject.


Since  about 2011, passengers waiting at bus stops are able to get real time information on bus arrival time, from a digital sign energized by a solar panel facing south - both mounted on a nearby pole. The distance between  pole and bus shelter may slightly differ from place to place, depending, probably, on the condition of the sidewalk near the bus shelter, and on finding the best angle for the solar panel .

the sign and the solar panel (near street lamps and  bus shelter)

The bus arrival information is based on data  transferred to a control center from a satellite navigation system (GPS) installed on buses. During the day, the solar panel accumulates enough energy from the sun to make the information visible on the sign screen in the dark hours too.

info visible on the sign during the dark hours

This, no doubt, highly improves the level of public transportation service. The problem is that not all bus stops are equipped with this smart system, and not all bus companies have adhered to the solar project.  It takes time and money, but there's no way back; the future belongs to the energy produced by sun, wind, water, and other 'green' sources.

panel facing sun,at the top; sign, facing bus shelter

As far as I know, Israel is not among the first countries that have introduced the above system.. Australia, Singapore, California , and other  countries have preceded us. Good for them, and good for us to have them as model, and be able to learn from their experience.