Guest Lecture “The Urban Genome – A Universal Toolkit for Cities”, by Prof. Hillel Schocken

On December 16, 2016, Prof. Hillel Schocken from the Tel Aviv University came to the LFUI to hold a guest lecture on “The Urban Genome – A Universal Toolkit for Cities” at the Department of Building History. In his presentation, Prof. Schocken demonstrated how the Urban Genome indicators can serve to analyze existing urban environments and plan successful new ones. The lecture high lightened the three most important indicators that together could serve as a “litmus paper test” for successful urbanism:

Public Space Allocation per person (PSA), Network Density (ND), and Average Destination Distance (ADD). Prof. Hillel Schocken has been Principal at “Schocken Architects” since its establishment in 1978, leading projects in a large variety of building types and programs, including Urban Planning, Museums, Educational facilities, Offices, Housing, Industry and Conservation. Prior to his obtaining his diploma of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London he earned a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technion in Haifa. In parallel to his professional activity, Schocken is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the Azrieli School of Architecture at the Tel Aviv University and served as its director between 2004 and 2008. Throughout his career he has been teaching in Architecture schools throughout the world.