2005 – Holocaust History Museum, Yad Vashem, Safdie Architects

Designed by Safdie Architects, the Holocaust History Museum of Yad Vashem covers more than 4,200 square meters (45,000 square feet), mainly underground, on the Mount of Remembrance directly behind the Mount Herzl military cemetery. The triangular prism of the museum, embedded in the slope of Mount Herzl, both preserves the above-ground landscape and re-creates the darkness of the Holocaust period. The triangular cross-section of the structure alludes to the pyramids and, by extension, Israel’s bondage in Egypt. At its end, the prism opens up to a view of the Jerusalem forest. (Image by Martin Sykes-Haas, Yad Vashem)