TAU Faculty of Engineering Zarhy and Studio Pez win Rechter Prize for Young Architects

• Published date: 14 March 2024
• Author: NERIA BARR
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"I am, in fact, the fourth generation in my family to pursue architecture," he shared in an interview with The Jerusalem Post, shortly after clinching the esteemed Rechter Prize for young architects

Zarhy won the prize for designing the Faculty of Engineering at the Tel Aviv University. The judges' reasoning stated that "The project harnesses innovative engineering thinking, brilliantly intertwining technological and ecological perspectives, and fostering a genuinely distinctive architectural outcome. By creatively reinterpreting the modernist context of the campus structures in a contemporary light, Zarhy's project reflects current global trends. The exceptional level of design and execution showcased by the project stands out prominently, deserving commendation within the Israeli context."

Zarhy explained with pride, "My great-grandfather was Ze'ev Rechter. He met my grandfather, Moshe Zarhy, when they studied together at the Technion. Moshe married Rechter's sister, and they established a firm that later split and was continued by my father."

Zarhy graduated with honors from Tel Aviv University's School of Architecture. In 2012, after working for renowned offices such as OMA – Rem Koolhaas in Rotterdam and Herzog & De Meuron in Basel, he founded Studio PEZ together with Pedro Peña.

The studio has won numerous international competitions, among them: The Jerusalem Courthouse, Ideas competition for a New Opera House in Busan, S. Korea, Broadcom's R&D Center at Tel Aviv University, and most recently the campus for Bern's University of Applied Science (in collaboration with Wulf Architetken).

Zarhy said that working abroad has influenced his work tremendously.

"I am influenced both by my family's heritage – I practically had architecture streaming in my veins since childhood – and my work experiance, which gave me new and different perspectives. When you work in a big international firm with people who hail from around the globe, and everyone brings their point of view, it opens your mind, you get new ideas."

Zarhy and Peña established STUDIOPEZ International Architecture Studio in 2012 – now based in Basel, Switzerland, and Tel-Aviv – as a continuation of their ongoing collaboration while working at Herzog & De Meuron.

"We started off working together in our spare time on two projects and won both. We thought this was it – we made it. But the reality was different, both projects never got completed but our partnership survived and flourished," Zarhy said.

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