ADA: My Mother the Architect

Q&A with director Yael Melamede, moderated by Dayna Goldfine!

Ada Karmi-Melamede is one of the most accomplished architects in the world, yet her
work remains largely unrecognized beyond architectural circles. In the 1970s, she moved to New York from Israel, following her husband’s rising career, and spent the next 15 years
balancing academia, large-scale public projects, and motherhood. While teaching at Columbia
University’s Graduate School of Architecture, she contributed to major urban initiatives,
including a master plan for Con Edison, a study for mixed-use development along the
proposed Second Avenue Subway, and a 1978 housing competition on Roosevelt Island—all while raising three young children.

But in the early 1980s, after being denied tenure at Columbia, Ada made a bold decision to
leave New York and her family for the opportunity of a lifetime – the design of the new
Supreme Court of Israel. While her career flourished, personal sacrifices mounted as she
remained far from her family. Ada’s work gave physical form to some of Israel’s highest
democratic ideals, shaping landmarks such as the Supreme Court Building, The Open
University, the Israel Institute for Democracy, and Ben Gurion University, among many other
civic institutions.

Ada – My Mother the Architect, directed by Ada’s daughter, Yael Melamede, explores the
profound tension between career and motherhood and a unique mother-daughter bond.