Art and designעדה כרמי-מלמד

Ada Karmi-Melamede

Ada Karmi-Melamede is an Israeli architect who designed the Supreme Court building in Jerusalem with her brother Ram Karmi and received the Israel Prize for architecture in 2007.

born 1936The Supreme Court building, JerusalemOpen University campus in Ra'ananaIsrael Prize for architecture

Born: 24 December 1936, Tel Aviv
Occupation: architect
Education: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Architectural Association School of Architecture

Ada Karmi-Melamede was born in 1936 in Tel Aviv

Karmi-Melamede was born on December 24, 1936, in Tel Aviv. Her father was the architect Dov Karmi, who designed many buildings in old Tel Aviv. Her mother, Haya, was a granddaughter of Mordechai Maklef of Petah Tikva, and her brother was the architect Ram Karmi.

She studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London from 1956 to 1959. She then studied at the Technion and received her degree in 1963.

She spent 15 years designing and teaching in the United States, including at Columbia University from 1969 to 1982. In 1985 she founded her own office in Tel Aviv. In 1986 she and her brother won an international competition to design the Supreme Court compound in Jerusalem, which opened in 1992.

Her work includes many public buildings, among them the Open University campus in Ra'anana, the Schechter Institute and buildings at Ben-Gurion University. In 2015 two projects she led drew public debate: a residence and office for the prime minister and a building at the Western Wall plaza. A documentary about her, Ada: My Mother the Architect, came out in 2024.