Yaakov Rechter

Yaakov Rechter was an Israeli architect who received the Israel Prize for architecture in 1972.

1924 to 2001Mivtachim Sanitarium in Zikhron Ya'akovBrutalist concrete architectureHeichal HaTarbut in Tel AvivHotels in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Born: 14 June 1924, Tel Aviv
Died: 26 February 2001, Shefayim
Occupation: architect
Education: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

Yaakov Rechter was born in 1924 in Tel Aviv

Yaakov Rechter was born in Tel Aviv on 14 June 1924. His parents were Paula Singer and the architect Ze'ev Rechter. He grew up in his father's house, which served as a cultural center in the city.

During World War II he joined the Royal Air Force and served as a night guard at the Stella Maris base on Mount Carmel. By day he studied architecture at the Technion in Haifa and graduated in 1947.

In 1952 he joined his father's architecture office, and later ran his own firm. His son Amnon joined him in 1995. His work includes Heichal HaTarbut in Tel Aviv, the Tel Aviv Hilton, the Mivtachim Sanitarium in Zikhron Ya'akov and the central library on Mount Scopus.

In his early career he worked in a brutalist style with exposed raw concrete. He was married first to Sara Shafir and then to actress Hana Maron, and had five children. He died of cancer on 26 February 2001 and was buried at Kibbutz Shefayim.