David Resnick

David Reznik (; August 5, 1924 – November 4, 2012 ) was a Brazilian-born Israeli architect and town planner whose awards include the Israel Prize in architecture and the Rechter Prize. Resnick, whose name is sometimes spelled in English as "Reznik" or "Reznick," is a past director of the Israeli Architects Association, and is known as one of Israel's "most celebrated modern architects". and was hired—while still a student—by the firm of Oscar Niemeyer, "the greatest Brazilian architect of the 20th century." Resnick worked in the fields of the kibbutz for two years, and has stated that even though he moved to the city to follow his career in architecture, his sense of social commitment has always remained with him.

Works

Resnick's early works with Rau included the Rabbi Dr. I. Goldstein Synagogue and the Einstein Institute of Mathematics on the Givat Ram campus of Israel's Hebrew University. The design has been described as one that "takes the form of a gentle concrete puffball hovering just above the surface of the rock, rather as if it had been tossed there by the wind." Yad Kennedy (the John F. Kennedy Memorial outside of Jerusalem), and the Antiquities Museum in Hatzor (in Kibbutz Ayyelet ha-Shahar), and the Soldiers Home complex (Yad lebanim). A memorial to the life of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his assassination in 1963, the high memorial is shaped like the trunk of a felled tree, symbolizing a life cut short.

Resnick's other major buildings include the Israel National Academy of Sciences. In addition to designing independent buildings and memorials, Resnick is also the architect for a number of private homes and the town planner for a number of neighborhoods. According to the catalogue, "David Reznik: A Retrospective": "The pavilion was designed as a truncated fortress, with only a few narrow, horizontal openings; it was three levels high, the movement between levels flowing on a sloping spiral ramp. The corners were rounded to create an elegant silhouette, softening its heavy appearance, and the surface was covered with rough plaster." Resnick's work included input from Castel himself.

Town planning In addition to his work as an architect on independent buildings and memorials, Resnick's work as a town planner includes the neighborhoods in Kiryat Hasidim, Hatzor Haglilit, Modi'in and Beit Shemesh. The project was developed for immigrants from English-speaking countries, and the resulting community was based on a design that included uniformity in terms of the outside structure and individuality in terms of interior spaces—while at the same time incorporating the community into the outside landscape, including the mountain slope. He felt that the city was "like a virgin," that can't be touched in certain places.

Resnick has called Jerusalem a "melancholy place," and stated that some of his works (such as the synagogue on the Hebrew University Givat Ram campus) were envisioned to evoke that feeling.

Honors and awards Resnick was awarded the Israel Prize in Architecture in 1995, Honorary investment to the AIA's College of Fellows "bestowed on architects of esteemed character and distinguished achievements who are neither US citizens nor US residents, and who do not primarily practice architecture within the domain of the Institute."

Resnick's other honors include the 2009 award for architecture from Jerusalem's Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.