JW3’s ‘bittersweet’ design award from boycott body

The chairman of JW3 spoke this week about the “bittersweet” design award given by a professional body seeking to boycott Israel.

The Finchley Road community centre, designed by architects Lifschutz, Davidson and Sandilands, received the award from the Royal Institute for British Architects (RIBA), which wants Israel expelled from the international architects’ association.

Michael Goldstein said: “This is a bittersweet moment, due to the upset caused by RIBA’s recent anti-Israel resolution.”

The building was one of eight honoured with an award in the Arts and Leisure category in London – the UK’s most competitive region.

Goldstein said they’d asked the designers to come up with something “environmentally-friendly, easy to navigate and architecturally fresh,” adding: “We asked for a building which would change the Jewish landscape.”