For this year’s Jerusalem Design Week, the theme of “The Ark” was explored through various exhibitions, including Vaults of Life, a dedicated “safe room” created to preserve and showcase carefully selected collections of small, meaningful design objects.
Project Name: Vaults of life
Studio Name: YET Architecture
Architects: Anastasiya Katliaskaya, Ilya Katliarski
Digital fabrication: YET FAB
Metalworks: Vadim Xe
Lighting: Marushkin Michael
Chief Curators : Dana Benshalom, Sonja Olitsky
Artistic Director: Roni Yeheskel
Photo: Dor Kedmi, courtesy of Jerusalem Design Week
Space Design
To emphasize the fragility and importance of the objects displayed, the exhibition space was designed to evoke a dramatic, contemplative atmosphere. The room remained completely dark, with no natural light, and each object was illuminated by a single, directed spotlight. This focused lighting created an intimate and reverent experience, drawing visitors’ attention to each item.
Pedestal Layout
The room was structured with a grid of pedestals, each highlighting a unique collection. The layout allowed visitors to navigate between the aisles of industrial metal mesh pedestals, engaging with each display up close. The 90 cm mesh pedestals, painted black, introduced a structured, gridded look that encouraged interaction. This raw material lent the exhibition a more approachable feel, softening the traditional “hands-off” atmosphere
of a museum.
The pedestals featured tabletops of various designs, composed of single or multiple layers
of black and transparent acrylic sheets. The sheets were arranged at different heights to
securely accommodate and protect each exhibited item.
Custom Joints
To allow flexibility in the display, custom-designed 3D-printed joints connected the acrylic
sheets to the metal mesh, enabling variable tabletop heights and easy assembly and
disassembly. These joints were structurally optimized to support the weight of each object
while ensuring secure connections.
Lighting and Ambience
The interplay of light and shadow within the dark room intensified the sense of value and
significance of each collection. Positioned above the grid, narrow-beam spotlights cast
focused light on each pedestal, highlighting the items and casting striking shadows across
the surfaces. This effect filtered existing fixtures, enhancing the exhibition’s immersive
quality and drawing visitors into a thoughtful engagement with each display.
