BENEATH THE SURFACE: BUILDING CITIES WITH ROOTS

On Eilat Street in Holon's Jesse Cohen neighborhood, a major urban renewal project is underway. Early in its planning, an unexpected difficulty emerged. The plot designated for one of the four new buildings was home to a massive ficus tree — impossible to overlook given its size and significance in the space. Rather than chop it down, the site's landscape architects, the architects, developers and the City of Holon joined forces to find an alternative: the entire design was reshaped around the tree, with even the underground parking layout modified to protect the tree's root system.

"It wasn't a matter of assigning a few meters to preserve the tree," says landscape architect and urban planner Lotem Blank of Izy Blank Landscape Architects. "It was a 20-meter radius and nearly 700 square meters! But the ficus was integral to the neighborhood's identity and character, and would anchor the new complex in its history."

Cracking a Project's Essence at the Outset
In Israeli urban renewal, revitalizing urban environments offers clear benefits but often comes with significant environmental costs. Chief among them is the large-scale uprooting of trees — 60 to 70 thousands of them were removed between 2024 and 2025, and more still were lost in major infrastructure developments like the Dan region's light rail system.

"Replacement trees are typically planted, but it takes 10 to 15 years for them to mature and truly impact the environment," explains Izy Blank, owner and chairman of the Israeli Association of Landscape Architects. "So, alongside the positives of urban renewal projects and infrastructure development, serious environmental considerations must be carefully weighed."

One of the most critical stages in any building project is, according to Blank, its inception. "If the right direction isn't set from the beginning, it's extremely difficult to correct later, as with zoning plans," he says. "It's at the beginning that we crack the essence of the project, which allows us to design in alignment with clear goals."

Architecture, infrastructure, supervision and contractor coordination all play crucial roles. And budget dictates material choices, finishing levels and quality. But none of this impacts the project's conceptual core.

Sometimes the project itself dictates the planning , final outcome and level of finish. "We served as landscape architects for an IDF training base south of Beersheba," recounts Blank. "A natural stream running through the camp had to be preserved in its original state, with seasonal flooding carefully considered. We also had to ensure at least 50 percent shade coverage across all open areas."

Tree Huggers in the Best Sense
Izy Blank Landscape Architects was founded in 1987 by Blank and his then-partner, landscape architect Prof. Eran Ben-Joseph, now retired. The company today fields a team of 13 professionals, among them six architects and landscape architects, and five landscape engineering technicians. Two and a half years ago, Blank's daughter, Lotem, herself a landscape architect and urban planner, joined the practice.

The firm specializes in landscape architecture across a wide range of projects — urban building plans, residential neighborhoods, parks, commercial centers with public plazas, streetscapes, hotels, boutique developments, major national infrastructure projects and government buildings. "We define landscape architecture as anything that isn't a building or road," says Blank. "It's all forms of open public space, sometimes for profit, but always for the soul."
One recent project exemplifying this philosophy is a memorial garden in Tzur Yitzhak near Kfar Saba, designed with the Eshel family to honor the late Sgt. Roni Eshel, 19, a field observer murdered in the Hamas attack on Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023. Rather than a formal monument, the 800-square-meter garden is a living, breathing space with a Mediterranean orchard, reflecting Roni's love of nature and fostering community interaction.
"Landscape architecture is more than a profession, it's a way of life," explain the Blanks. "We're often called 'tree huggers' in the best sense of the term, not only because we embrace nature, but because we plant trees today for shade that will come only 15 to 20 years from now. It's a long-distance journey. Planning a project can take anywhere from two to ten years, followed by two to three years of construction. Only then are the trees planted, and their true impact may not be seen for decades."

The Growing Role of Landscape Architects in Public Spaces
The importance of landscape architecture is gaining recognition in public discourse," notes Blank. "Open space planning is increasingly viewed as essential. Shade, especially, is a critical concern for architects, local authorities and even the professional media. The climate crisis has sharpened the role of our profession, with landscape architecture integral to coping with heat and climate change. Authorities are beginning to internalize the need, and see trees in public spaces as a critical component, especially in Israel, given its extreme summer heat."

Landscape architecture in Israel is taught at the Technion in Haifa and, for the past two years, at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem. The Technion graduates 20 to 25 students each year, with many of them snatched up by the job market as early as their second year of study. As chair of the Israeli Association of Landscape Architects, Blank works to raise awareness of the profession's importance, strengthen its recognition and advocate for its rightful place within both academic and professional institutions.

"Advancing landscape architecture as a central discipline within architecture and engineering is a constant effort," he says. "Nonetheless, Israel has a unique advantage: the profession is officially regulated here and requires licensing, unlike in most of Europe, where only six countries officially license their landscape architects."

From Topography to Human Movement
Izy Blank Landscape Architects works with private developers, local authorities and institutions from early planning through detailed design and construction supervision. In distinctive landscape projects such as parks, they lead design, and in residential and building projects, they collaborate closely with the architects. Their vision for every project is to design the highest quality open public space with uncompromising service to their clients.

"Landscape architecture is primarily about people," stresses Blank. "What people experience above ground — 'the icing and cherries on the cake' — is the visible result of a complex below-surface system of substrates, infrastructure, electricity and materials. We strive to make the experience enjoyable and functional from the outset. When people choose to spend time in these spaces, they're voting with their feet and, for us, that's a sign of our success. We're a seasoned team with decades of experience, working alongside recent graduates. It brings together seasoned professionals — whose expertise and skills have been honed through hundreds of projects — with emerging talents who offer fresh perspectives, innovation, and fluency in AI, digital tools, and advanced software, creating a dynamic and balanced team."

Designing for Diverse Users
"In every project, we analyze the environment from topography and drainage to user behavior to understand how to best serve the people who'll use it," explains Lotem Blank. "We use programs that range from 2D AutoCAD and 3D Revit to visualization software, which also enable us to present plans to developers in a vivid, interactive and compelling format."

In a new 20-dunam employment and commercial center being planned in Netanya, for example, the company is creating a green oasis in the open spaces at the heart of four towers in an area where nature is otherwise scarce. Their design includes communal gathering areas alongside more intimate corners for lunch breaks or business meetings. It introduces three-dimensional interest through varied elevation levels and offers a range of spatial experiences, from open plazas to lush, plant-enclosed spaces. Natural and artificial shading solutions, along with human-scale design, will contribute to a welcoming environment that bridges between the towering buildings and their surroundings.

Izy Blank Landscape Architects operates across all scales, from a boutique 400-square-meter courtyard within an office building to expansive mega-projects. Its portfolio includes small gardens and urban squares of 2 to 3 dunams with distinct design value, such as the commercial center in Neve Gan, Ramat Hasharon, as well as large-scale parks, extending over 20 dunams in Netanya and 120 dunams in Beersheba.

In mixed-use developments, the firm emphasizes integration of meaningful open spaces. A current project in Ness Ziona exemplifies this approach: it involves the preservation and adaptive reuse of a historic British police building, transformed for commercial purposes. The structure is wrapped in a garden that enhances user experience and is surrounded by office and employment buildings, a central public plaza and senior housing, all organized around a system of internal courtyards.
Many of the firm's projects aim to bring nature into the urban environment, creating essential breathing spaces for city dwellers, especially in the wake of the pandemic. This is achieved through use of local vegetation and natural elements such as shade, sustainable drainage and stormwater management systems. The 'urban forest' concept plays a key role. By incorporating Mediterranean scrub landscapes, whether on rooftops or in isolated soil-beds above parking structures, the company enhances the presence of nature within the city and reinforces the connection between urban living and the natural environment.

In the strengthened ecological corridors they create, butterflies, lizards, bees and birds begin to return. Nature and ecology form an interconnected system that regenerates itself, starting from the soil and vegetation in a process of ecological restoration that benefits both the environment and its users.

"With Izy's experience and deep knowledge and my energy and passion to move forward, we hope to keep growing and flourishing, like nature itself," says Lotem.

In collaboration with Izy Blank Landscape Architects Ltd.