The exhibition spans 40 projects, from urban planning to interiors, and is intentionally integrated into their workspace.

For four decades, Kimmel Eshkolot Architects have shaped spaces where people and cities meet, treating every building as a part of the public realm. Founded in 1986 by Etan Kimmel and Michal Kimmel Eshkolot, partners in both work and life, the firm is known for its commitment to public and cultural projects, attentive urban planning, and designs that respond thoughtfully to context and community.

This weekend, the firm is launching Kimmel Eshkolot – 40 Years of Creation, a retrospective staged throughout the Start-Up Nation Central building in Tel Aviv, whose interiors they designed and planned.

The exhibition spans 40 projects, from urban planning to interiors, and is intentionally integrated into their workspace. Etan describes the exhibition as an effort to make architecture visible to the public.

Bringing architecture to the public

“We want to bring architecture in general to the public eye,” he says. “This is really important because architecture touches everyone’s lives. It’s the most physical, direct form of culture.”

Michal emphasizes that buildings must do more than occupy space; they should interact with their surroundings. “When a building comes into its environment,” she explains, “it has to think how to improve it, how to generate relationships with its neighbors, how to connect spaces.”

One of the clearest examples of this philosophy is the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History in Tel Aviv. The building appears to “hover” above ground, functioning as a gateway to the nearby botanical gardens. Michal describes it as a “passage,” a functional and symbolic axis linking previously disconnected urban areas.

Negotiating historic contexts is a recurring aspect of Kimmel Eshkolot’s work.

At the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem, the partners transformed a medieval fortress, a structure “that absolutely does not want to be inviting,” into a lively and accessible museum. They placed much of the program underground, preserving views of the ancient walls while adding new entrance pavilions, exhibition spaces, and visitor amenities. Their interventions are subtle but intentional, blending old and new in ways that respect memory and enhance accessibility.

The firm’s approach to projects

Time, patience, and long-term vision are central to the firm’s approach. As Michal notes, “Some of our projects began more than 20 years ago, and their realization only comes gradually.”

Urban planning projects, in particular, require persistence: a plan laid out today may take decades to fully materialize.

This long-term perspective is embedded in 40 Years of Creation. Visitors encounter a time capsule installation and a timeline tracing the firm’s trajectory from 1985-86 into the coming decades.

Rather than a static gallery, Kimmel Eshkolot conceived the exhibition as a living event. While a catalog was considered, the partners chose a relocatable, free-standing display, which will move after its inaugural weekend to the new gallery of the Israeli Architects Association at the Rishon LeZion Winery.

Graduates of the Technion in 1985, Etan and Michal built their practice together and have maintained a shared vision for four decades. At 40, Kimmel Eshkolot Architects reminds us that architecture’s greatest contribution may be its ability to connect people, history, and place, quietly, deliberately, and with enduring cultural purpose.

Kimmel Eshkolot – 40 Years of Creation, at Startup Nation Central, 28 Lilienblum St., Tel Aviv. November 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; November 22, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.