This house is sited in the heart of Jerusalem on a property dense with large trees. There is a significant grade drop at the rear of the site, which offers it unobstructed views of the hills beyond.  We wanted to create a house that opens itself to the expansive gardens.  However, we also wanted to respect the heavier contextual architecture of the Jerusalem streetscape. The result was a house that offers a mostly opaque stone face to the street and exposes itself to the lush garden. The battered stone street wall is echoed throughout the house with carefully composed stone vignettes, almost like remnants of a bygone structure. Metaphorically, the house represents Jerusalem herself, forever torn between the old and the new. Another prominent element in the project is the use of wood sunscreens. Screens, or  mushrabyia were commonly used throughout the history of Middle Eastern architecture. We used it here in a more minimalistic wood form. It provides sun protection, privacy, and a more intimate sense of scale to the large expanses of glass.