The concept of re-use guided the planning of the center and is manifested on all scales of the plan. The center is meant to serve as a base for a guided tour through the sorting and recycling factory established on the site in place of the now-dormant Hiriya landfill, and as an environmental center to be visited by schools and other organized groups.

The transformation of Hiriya, a notorious ex-garbage dump that has absorbed the trash of the Tel Aviv Region for the past several decades, into a positive, family-friendly environmental center was the challenge in planning this building. The center, located at the foot of the Hiriya landfill, is the first spark in a grandiose project for the rehabilitation of the Hiriya area and its transformation into a much-needed “green lung” for the benefit of the city-dwellers.

Rather than erect a new building on the site, we decided to renovate an existing, abandoned concrete structure built in the late sixties as a recycling factory because of the striking dimensions of its inner space. This space was preserved as much as possible, becoming a central gathering place to be used as an exhibition hall and greenhouse. The open Eastern façade of the hall borders on a pool of purified water: the pool is the final outcome of a series of wetlands located alongside the pedestrian pathway leading to the center. These wetlands demonstrate the process of water purification carried out by the recycling factory.

The cafeteria, classrooms, offices, and auditorium are located in additions to the structure made of aluminum and glass on its Western façade.

Recycled materials gathered onsite are used for the paving and design of various elements of the building.