Tower of Esther

photo: Ivan Němec

Jerusalem is a magical city to me. So when my friend and the head of the Czech Centre in Tel Aviv, Lukáš Přibyl, approached me in the spring of 2017, saying that he and Mrs. Francoise Cafri from the Jerusalem city hall had discovered the possibility of building a tower in the center of Jerusalem - and that it would be a dignified way to celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia and 70 years since the founding of the state of Israel - I didn't hesitate for a second.
My colleagues from Hutě and I immediately dove into work and came up with an idea - the tower will resemble a cactus. Why? When a cactus blooms with a crown of flowers, it is an impressively beautiful plant in its toughness and prickliness, and it seemed symbolic to me - this combination of tenderness and determination is similar to the character of the people I met in Israel. Moreover: What do we call Israelis who were born in a harsh landscape and can turn the desert into a blossoming garden? Sabra. Cactus! So we are building a sabra to celebrate the people who had strength, courage, toughness, but also love and tenderness for their land.
The tower has a platform at the top, where, like cactus flowers, individual petals of the mantle separate and allow visitors to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. We also paid great attention to adjusting its parameters to the fairytale environment of the Hansen House and its garden - so that it "doesn't overpower" and is a pleasant and respectful companion to the centuries-old olive trees in the garden and the houses in the immediate vicinity of the complex.
To make the project as feasible as possible, we produced the individual segments in the Czech Republic so that they could be placed into two containers, shipped across the sea, and assembled into the desired shape in the Hansen House garden premises.
The most wonderful thing about the whole affair is the feeling that our cactus will be a new Czech footprint in one of the cradles of world civilization! This relatively small building will thus become a bearer of a deep symbolic mission.