Arial Properties: 7 Years of Professional Guidance in Establishing the National Library

The project of establishing the National Library in Jerusalem is unique and unprecedented in Israel, both in terms of its scope and complexity. Arial Properties, an experienced and long-standing consulting and maintenance company, had the honor of being part of this unique project team from 2016 until its completion in 2023.

The impressive building, covering approximately 47,000 square meters across 11 floors, serves as a home for an enormous collection of human knowledge and culture. Five million books, hundreds of thousands of newspaper issues, millions of rare historical photographs, personal collections, historical maps, tens of thousands of manuscripts, millions of digital files, music recordings, posters, and more – these treasures have found a worthy residence, with advanced storage conditions and innovative preservation technologies.

In addition to spacious reading halls, the building includes an “automated repository” – a unique book storage system that allows quick and efficient access to millions of books. A special vault was created for the storage of rare and especially sensitive books. Alongside these, the library offers public work and research spaces, a spacious auditorium with 480 seats, areas for permanent and rotating exhibitions, offices for the library staff, book restoration laboratories, meeting rooms, seminar rooms, a café, a restaurant, server rooms, advanced control systems, and a parking lot with 313 spaces.

Planning and constructing a building of such scale, while integrating advanced technological systems with valuable and sensitive collections, presented numerous challenges for the project team. Arial Properties, with its extensive experience in managing complex projects, made significant contributions in addressing these challenges.

Ilan Weinberg, Operations and Maintenance Consultant at Arial Properties, explains: “The complexity of the project required unique solutions in all areas of operations, maintenance, and cleaning of the building’s exterior and interior, and its systems. I was an active partner in the planning and consulting team, greatly contributed to recommendations in choosing equipment, systems, and finishing materials, and was involved in finding solutions to all the professional challenges we faced. The sense of satisfaction and professional enjoyment I experienced throughout the process was immense.”

The new National Library is a national cultural asset of great importance. It opens up a whole world of knowledge and culture to the general public, providing researchers and students with easy access to unique and fascinating collections. Beyond being a center of knowledge and culture, the National Library is also a vibrant public and cultural space, inviting the public to enjoy a variety of cultural activities, lectures, exhibitions, and more.

Arial Properties is proud to be part of this groundbreaking project and sees it as a significant contribution to Israeli culture and national heritage.