Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

Israeli architect Ranaan Stern has adapted a 15-square metre room inside an artist’s Tel Aviv apartment to create a studio with two desks, 36 drawers, modular storage compartments, pegboard display walls and even a folding bed (+ slideshow).

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

The unusual set up was designed to accommodate living and working spaces, as well as display areas for a collection of specific objects dating from the 1940s to the present day.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

“The artist creates and collects different kinds of art pieces, most are 2D but also some small sculptures, books and old materials,” explained Ranaan Stern. “We needed different kinds of storage units, different sizes and different ways of keeping the new and old pieces.”

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

The apartment is located inside a concrete block from the 1950s and two of the room’s four walls are windows, so expanding the space was not an option.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

The team spent four weeks measuring each object and organising them into four separate categories. These categories were then further divided into groups, dependent on how much a piece was needed for everyday use or for display.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

“We also needed storage for materials and tools for the artist’s daily work. During measuring we gave each category a colour, which is exposed only when one opens a drawer or any other unit,” said Stern.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

The result is a layout that would appear random to an outsider, but has a coherence that is instantly familiar to the artist.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

“The smaller sections can be removed from the larger frame units and placed on the table during work.” Stern continued. “Removable sliding doors are actually pallets that pieces can be placed on for presentation or that can be used as modular easels.”

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

Most of the cells, cupboards and drawers have been constructed from lightweight birch and treated with a clear coating that emphasises the wood’s natural grain. Birch has also been used for the flooring.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

“We also designed the storage by two rules: the easiest way to physically open and use, but always making sure everyday stuff and more needed pieces will be more accessible. Some pieces can be place on the pegboard which is also a painting stand for different sizes of boards,” added the architect.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

The windows were fitted with blinds to help give the artist control over the atmosphere and natural light. The addition of a folding bed that can be neatly stored away allows the space to also be used as a guest room.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

Photography is by Gidon Levin.

Here’s some more information about the project:


Artist’s Studio

In the artist’s central Tel Aviv apartment, architects Ranaan Stern and Shany Tal from Raanan Stern’s Studio designed a versatile 15 sqm studio workspace. The proportions of the room in the 60 year old concrete building allow the maximum amount of light to enter through the window. The window was carefully divided and blinds were hung with the aim of giving the artist control over the atmosphere and natural light.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

The artist’s varied family and personal collection includes 2d pieces dating from the 1940’s to the present. For this purpose: every piece that will be stored was measured: they were organised and ordered according to groups, sizes and artistic connections. After the organisational and calculation stage, four separate proportions were discovered that receive expression as each section is opened. Every cell, cupboard or drawer was designed internally according to the required proportions, only when the drawer is opened the colourful mosaic of the storage section is revealed.

Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern

In addition, different sections were planned and built for displaying and storing work, tools and materials. The smaller sections can be removed from the larger frame units and placed on the table during work. Removable sliding doors are actually pallets that pieces can be placed on for presentation or that can be used as modular easels. All the hidden mechanisms of the units and drawers such as the sizes and divisions were fitted to the proportions of the artist. The order of the space allows minimum movement outside of the work area and table and maximum accessibility to works tools according to their importance in the studio.

3D diagram of Space-saving modular studio for an artist by Raanan Stern
3D diagram – click for larger image

The closets and units are made of white birch as well as the flooring which is covered in bright birch tiles. The wood was coated lightly in order to give a light and delicate feeling, but still retaining the slightly wizened look of natural wood in the work space. The Artist uses the space to host colleagues and behind the sliding doors there is also a folding bed for the dual functionality of the room.

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for an artist by Raanan Stern
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Inside eBay Israel Office

L’artiste Miki Mottes a imaginé toute une série d’illustrations colorées pour décorer les bureaux d’eBay Labs à Natanya. De nombreux stickers qui apportent une touche de gaieté et de joie dans les locaux de l’entreprise de ventes aux enchères la plus connue au monde. Le tout est à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.

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Brooklyn Sesame Halva Spread: Typically dry, crumbly sweet halva is reinvented as a versatile spread

Brooklyn Sesame Halva Spread


Taking Brooklyn by storm is newcomer Brooklyn Sesame, whose debut product breaks down dense, crumbly blocks of sweet halva (Arabic for “dessert”) into a delicious spread for more versatile munching. Halva is a traditional food enjoyed…

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Longboard Girls Crew in Israel

Les différents membres du Longboard Girls Crew viennent de 11 pays et se réunissent pour dévaler des pentes dans des lieux exceptionnels. Voici la dernière vidéo et le trailer du collectif tournée en Israël par Daniel Etura, alliant avec talent des images de jeunes femmes et de superbes paysages.

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Nesher Memorial auditorium and gallery by SO Architecture

Israeli studio SO Architecture added this auditorium and gallery to a hilltop war memorial in Nesher, Israel, and tilted it upwards so that it faces towards the sky (+ slideshow).

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

SO Architecture designed the concrete auditorium building as an extension to the existing structure, which commemorates Israeli soldiers that died in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War but previously was only used once a year on the country’s national memorial day.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

The new building provides a community hall for events, film screenings and other activities, as well as an exhibition gallery charting the history of the site, which served as a guarding post during the war.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

The exhibition space, called the Remembrance Gallery, is filled with photographs of fallen soldiers. These cover boxes installed along the walls, where victims’ families can store items that preserve the memories of their loved ones.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

In the auditorium, rows of ascending timber bleachers provide seating, while a large window fills the space with light and offers a view out over nearby Haifa Bay.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

Dark grey paint covers the exterior of the extension, uniting it with the existing memorial. A concrete plaque adorns the side of the old tower, and a golden Star of David is positioned at the top.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

“The concrete relief was made in the 1950s by the artist Michael Kare as part of the transformation of the building from guarding post to a memorial,” added the architects.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

Stepped landscaping and a viewing platform have been added to the south of the site, joining an existing limestone square and a children’s playground.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

SO Architecture also designed the Yehiam Memorial Hall at Kibbutz Yehiam – another building that commemorates the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

Photography is by Shai Epstein.

Here’s a project description from SO Architecture:


Nesher Memorial

Nesher Memorial was built on a basis of an historic preservation building that was used in the past as a guarding position. In ’48 war the position’s used as protection to the residents of Giv’at Nesher. The building is located in the heart of a quiet neighbourhood, on a hilltop, surrounded by a large square and a children’s playground.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

Prior to the construction works, the building was neglected and was used in favour of the public only once a year – in the National Memorial Day, then it was open for a tour and impression of memorial pictures, as a part of the public ceremony for the memory of the fallen.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

Nesher municipality asked SO Architecture office to expand the square surrounding the building so it will enable multiplayer events, and to redesign the building and add functions to it, so that it can serve the public throughout the year as a gathering space.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

The main architectural idea was to add to the existing building an auditorium structure that could be used for different kinds of public activities such as lectures, film screenings, activities of youth groups, etc., along with preservation of the historical memory.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

The auditorium

The auditorium reveals its insides geometry to the park and the city surrounding, by its inclined façade. This geometrical act has an additional meaning in creating a symbolic geometry that communicates with the memorial concept, and the function of the building as a monument.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

A large window is located at the edge of the auditorium, facing north and thus brings a soft light into the auditorium and enables a breathtaking view at the landscape of Haifa bay. In a poetic allegory to reality, the window function as a bright ending to the inner space, and thus symbolises the balance between the bereavement pain and the light and hope in the living world.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

The memory space

A box for each fallen, with its picture on it, is hanged on the wall of the memory area inside the building. Inside it, there is a room for storage of memorial personal belongings that the family and the municipality can put. In the space itself there is a place for seating and communion with the memory books and the memory of the fallen.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture

The centre of the memory space is lighted by long and narrow windows that were the shooting slits in the original guarding position, and by upper skylight windows from the original historic building. The memory space was designed in a modular manner, so that if necessary, it will be possible to add additional boxes without any difficulty.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture
Site plan – click for larger image

Finishing materials

The original building contours regarding to the addition, are marked and highlighted through aluminium bars that were sediment in mortar and emphasise the contours of the old building regarding to the new addition.
The materials that we used in the building are simple.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture
Floor plan – click for larger image

The floor in the memory space is a concrete floor. The ceiling along the whole building is covered with oak planks, so that it creates a warm atmosphere. The auditorium area was also covered with wood, and sponge padded seats. An access to disabled was also arranged.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture
Section one – click for larger image

The square

The gatherings’ square on the front of the building, was designed on the basis of the existing square. The works in it included suitability and accessibility to the disabled, creating grandstand steps in the edges to enable a more comfortable viewing, and an addition of another viewing site at the southern end of the square. The finishing material of the square is a visible concrete that delimits the steps, and grey concrete blocks.

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture
Section two – click for larger image

Architects: SO Architecture www.soarch.co.il
Planning team: Shachar Lulav , Oded Rosenkier , Alejandro Feinerman , Tomer Nahshon, Samer Hakim.
Site Area: 1100 Sqm
Building Area: 118 Sqm
Year: 2013

Nesher Memorial by SO Architecture
Detailed section – click for larger image

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House E/J in Tel Aviv by Paritzki & Liani Architects

This house in Tel Aviv by Israeli studio Paritzki & Liani Architects has a transparent ground floor, which reveals a terracotta-brick floor that extends out into the garden (+ slideshow).

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

Paritzki & Liani Architects demolished the end property from a row of existing houses in the coastal neighbourhood of Herzliya, then built a new three-storey residence with the same size and proportions as its predecessor.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

Rather than using the same footprint as the old house, the architects pulled the new volume apart in the middle and rotated one of the halves by 90 degrees.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

The two new volumes sit side by side, connected at one end by a corridor but visually separated by a semi-enclosed courtyard that slots in between.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

The two ground-floor spaces provide a living room and a combined kitchen and dining room. Both rooms are wrapped on three sides by glass walls, making them visible to one another and the garden.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

“We wanted to unite the garden and the ground floor,” architects Paola Liani and Itai Paritzki told Dezeen. “We used terracotta bricks in a fishbone pattern for the flooring of both the interior and exterior.”

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

Plaster-covered walls surround the two upper floors, which each accommodate a pair of bedrooms.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

There’s also a basement floor, containing a spare room and a laundry area.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

Here’s a project description from the architects:


House E/J

House E/J is located near the sea, surrounded by closely positioned eclectic residential houses.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

On the site there was an existing semi-detached house of only 80 square metres with a sloping roof. The construction regulations did not allow to increase the 80 square metres of built area on the ground floor.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

Thanks to the request of the inhabitants for a quite dense program (4 bedrooms, all equipped with private bathrooms, a separate guest suite, entrance, kitchen, dining, living, guest lavatory, laundry room, storage, shelter and parking) we found a strategy based on perceptive mechanism (light-wind) and typological devices (environment).

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

The first consideration was to elude the surroundings and thus create a new and protective green garden.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

For reasons concerning scale and volumetric perception we decomposed the volume in two separate houses, two volumes rotated perpendicular to one another, with a patio between them.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

The elements of this habitat, base, patio, stairs, were reloaded with a new operative function: they are devices with new possible levels of existence.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects
Design concept

The transparent base, that supports the three upper levels and reunites the functions (L,K,D), is considered an illusion box composed of intervals in the functional spaces, such as sliding doors and a mirror. These elements expand or increase the visual limits of the site.

Lower ground floor plan of EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects
Basement floor plan – click for larger image

The movements of the inhabitants in the house are fixed or hidden by new scenes of contemplation that differ according to the changing of light and reflections. The terrain is materially marked by the presence of continuous terracotta.

Ground floor plan of EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects
Ground floor plan – click for larger image

The patio tunnel is the insertion of zenithal light and wind into the illusion box. Above all it brings a sensorial and psychological implication of vertigo; in each floor the openings change according to the layout of the private rooms. Each bedroom has a view towards the surrounding growing garden or to the internal passage of the patio tunnel.

First floor plan of EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects
First floor plan – click for larger image

In order to obtain the forth façade we’ve cut a threshold of light above the stairs located between the confining wall of the adjacent property and the house, allowing a diffuse illumination in each and every level. The final result seems quite silent; nothing however is what it appears to be.

EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects
Second floor plan – click for larger image

Location: Herzliya, Israel
Site area: 375 metres squared
Total floor area: 263 metres squared
Storeys: 4
Completed: 2013

Section of EJ House by Paritzki & Liani Architects
Section – click for larger image

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Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

A black steel staircase links the six storeys of this townhouse in Tel Aviv by Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem (+ slideshow).

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

Pitsou Kedem designed the house for a family and added a private terrace and swimming pool on the rooftop.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

“The owners wanted to create the experience of life in a private residence, but within the city,” said architect Pitsou Kedem. “The authentic urban skyline reveals Tel Aviv’s rooftops to those in the courtyard and thus realises the urban experience that the owners wanted to achieve.”

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

All but one of the house’s floors opens out onto a balcony or terrace.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

A penthouse with sliding glass doors leads out to the roof deck and swimming pool, which are encased behind a clear glass balustrade.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

The fourth floor contains a study, small living space and a spa. A combined kitchen and living room occupies the floor below and is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

The parents of the family have an entire floor to themselves, with an en-suite bathroom and extensive closet space, while two more bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the level below, and belong to the children.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

A guest suite consisting of a bedroom, bathroom and living space can be found on the ground floor and opens out to a small enclosed terrace.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

The black steel staircase ascends through the rear corner of the house, beside a grey silicate-block wall. Exposed timber floors and wooden panelling also feature throughout.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

Tel Aviv Townhouse is the latest in a string of residential projects completed by Pitsou Kedem in the Israeli capital, following a renovated house with vaulted ceilings and stone walls and a house with double-height glass walls that slide back across its facade.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Here’s a description from the architects:


Town House in Tel Aviv

A 270 square metre plot was used as the foundation for a Tel Aviv town house consisting of a basement and an additional 6 floors. The owners wanted to create the experience of life in a private residence but within the city.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

The architect Pitsou Kedem designed an urban style courtyard on the roof and, as a result, reversed the usually, permanent, order of things. The authentic, urban skyline reveals to those in the courtyard, Tel Aviv’s rooftops and thus realises the urban experience that the owners wanted to achieve.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

The architectural design was based on a cross section of the structure whilst creating a physical and visual relationship between all the floors. Each floor encompasses an area of some 100 square meters with every floor being used for a different purpose. This enables the house’s residents to create common meeting spaces alongside separated spaces that, together, maximise the usage off the space and maximise the privacy that day to day life in a home requires.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

Thus, the design incorporates a separate floor for the parents living area which includes a large library, a floor devoted to children’s rooms, a common living floor and the upper floor for the pool. Wooden paneling is used around openings on the ground floor and is also used to disguise the entrance hall and a separate living unit.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

The home’s internal stairwell is designed as a dramatic, vertical line. In contrast to the stairwell common in most apartment buildings which is usually designed to be hidden from view, in this design the stairwell is open and runs along a wall covered with grey silicate blocks.

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem

Architects: Pitsou Kedem Architects
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Hagar Tzvi, Hila Sela
Location: Tel Aviv
Size: 610 square metres
Plot size: 260 sqm
Total floor area: 450 sqm
Design & build : 2009-2012
Program: Single family house

Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem
Ground floor – click for larger image
Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem
First floor – click for larger image
Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem
Second floor – click for larger image
Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem
Third floor – click for larger image
Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem
Fourth floor – click for larger image
Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem
Fifth floor – click for larger image
Tel Aviv Townhouse by Pitsou Kedem
Section – click for larger image

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Apolis Middle East Project: A new film about how making leather sandals united two people across the Israeli-Palestinian border

Apolis Middle East Project


Released today, the new Middle East Project film from Apolis tells a story linking Los Angeles to Tel Aviv and across the border to Hebron. When third-generation shoemaker Shlomy…

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Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem has exposed vaulted ceilings and stone walls inside this renovated house in the ancient port of Jaffa, Tel Aviv (+ slideshow).

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Pitsou Kedem restored the historical building, estimated to be hundreds of years old, by stripping back the interior to reveal walls of broken clay and shells, vaulted ceilings and large internal archways.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Small pockets are hollowed from the walls at various heights and are used to create storage areas and a desk.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

“The central idea was to combine the old and new whilst maintaining the qualities of each and to create new spaces that blend the styles together, even intensify them, because of the contrast and tension between the different periods,” said the studio.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

A set of three pivoting glass doors frame the downstairs bedroom, while a new kitchen extension on the west side of the house features a long window with views over the Mediterranean ocean.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Tall windows also lead out from the living room next door to a small wooden balcony.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

An iron staircase is set into the exposed concrete wall of the living room and is screened by a double-height balustrade of suspended wire cables. It ascends to a master bedroom on the mezzanine floor above.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Exposed concrete flooring throughout the house is covered with a mixture of patterned and textured rugs.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

“The project succeeds in both honouring and preserving the historical and almost romantic values of the structure whilst creating a contemporary project, modern and suited to its period,” added the designers.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Pitsou Kedem has also recently completed a house with double-height glass doors, a renovated 1950s house with a stone mosaic wall and a family house with timber screens that fold back in different directions.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

See more architecture by Pitsou Kedem »
See more architecture and interiors in Israel »

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Here’s a project description from the architects:


Jaffa House: contemporary minimalism and historical asceticism

The language of minimalism imbedded in a historic residence in Old Jaffa. The 180 square meter residential home is located in Old Jaffa. Its location is unique in that it is set above the harbour, facing west with all of its openings facing the majestic splendour of the Mediterranean Sea.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Whilst it is difficult to determine the buildings exact age, it is clear that it is hundreds of years old.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Over the years, it has undergone many changes and had many additions made that have damaged the original quality of the building and its spaces.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

The central idea was to restore the structure’s original, characteristics, the stone walls, the segmented ceilings and the arches including the exposure of the original materials (a combination of pottery and beach sand).

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

The building has been cleaned of all of the extraneous elements, from newer wall coverings and has undergone a peeling process to expose its original state.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Surprisingly, modern, minimalistic construction styles remind us of and correspond with the ascetic style of the past, and this despite the vast time difference between them.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

The central idea was to combine the old and the new whilst maintaining the qualities of each and to create new spaces that blend the styles together even intensify them because of the contrast and tension between the different periods.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

The historical is expressed by preserving the textures and materials of the buildings outer shell and by respecting the building engineering accord.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

The modern is expressed by the opening of spaces and by altering the internal flow to one more open and free and the creation of an urban home environment along with the use of stainless steel, iron and Korean in the various partitions, in the openings and in the furniture.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

The project succeeds in both honouring and preserving the historical and almost romantic values of the structure whilst creating a contemporary project, modern and suited to its period.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Despite the time differences, the tensions and the dichotomy between the periods exist in a surprisingly balanced and harmonic space.

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem

Design: Pitsou Kedem
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Raz Melamed, Irene Goldberg
Project: 180 sqm house in the old city of Jaffa

Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem
Ground floor plan – click for larger image
Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem
First floor plan – click for larger image
Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem
Second floor plan – click for larger image
Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem
Section through living room – click for larger image
Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem
Section through dining room – click for larger image
Jaffa House by Pitsou Kedem
Section through staircases – click for larger image

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Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

Play “spot the woman” in this photo set of an apartment that references Tel Aviv’s 1950s interiors by Israeli practice Jacobs-Yaniv Architects (+ slideshow).

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

As the clients are modernist enthusiasts, Jacobs-Yaniv Architects used materials, colours and furniture from the movement’s heyday to inform the design of the 190-square-metre space.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

“It was a great joy to study flats of Tel Aviv’s 50s, which were designed very cleverly,” said the designers.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

Spaces are kept as open as possible in keeping with this style and to allow maximum flexibility for the family.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

A corridor denoted by wooden flooring runs the full length of the long plan, utilised as a study area and library.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

The master bedroom sits at the far end, with an adjacent dressing room and its own terrace.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

Another larger terrace is positioned at the other end, accessible from the dining and lounge areas used for entertaining guests.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

Placed in the centre of the flat, kitchen units supported on an L-shaped black steel frame have oak doors lower down and lacquered yellow cupboards on top. These finishes are also used for storage compartments elsewhere.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

The children’s play area can be closed off with sliding doors to create a private guest room.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

Last week we featured another Tel Aviv apartment, which has perforated metal that screens conceal rooms and storage space, and we’ve also posted Google’s offices in the city with a meeting room full of orange trees.

Photography is by Amit Geron.

See more apartment interiors »
See more architecture and design in Israel »

Jacobs-Yaniv Architects sent us the following information:


Tel Aviv of the 1950s meets 2000

For the clients, who were born and bred in Tel Aviv, but spent most of their adult life in a house in the suburbs raising their family, the ultimate dream was to come back to Tel Aviv as mature and independent individuals, available to enjoy all that the city has to offer.

Informed and inspired by their love to modernist Tel Aviv of 50s and modernist design, with today’s influences and technological advantages, they gained what they had hoped for.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

The clients asked that the majority of space is kept open for maximum diversity in family activities.

There is only one formal bedroom placed in the far end of the flat while all other functions are concentrated in the centre of the space, holding the family area, a desk for two people, the kitchen and a play area which is a flexible space used both as a play room and guest room.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

This room is placed right by the family area and can be isolated by two sliding doors – very typical of Tel Aviv’s 50s. The design of the kitchen, which was placed in the centre of the flat as a piece of furniture, involved meticulous detailing. The oak and coloured Formica cupboards, lined with black internal finishing, are held within a steel structure.

The structure also houses all the required electric fittings – smart home control panels, lighting and speakers. The kitchen was tailor-made to the requirements of the owners who love to cook and host.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

Great thought was put into day-to-day functionality. There is plenty of storage space and display shelves for items that the clients have collected throughout the years.

The utility room is placed by the master bed room. It serves also as the guest bathroom and can be accessed through the main living space too, providing great ease around house work.

Flat in Tel Aviv by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects
Floor plan – click for larger image

We strongly believe that optimum functionality and harmonious living in a home should be as flexible and fluent as possible. Therefore we plan a variety of access points from room to room and design at least one space as a ‘flexible room’ which can be used in different ways.

It was a great joy to study flats of Tel Aviv’s 50s, which were designed very cleverly providing exactly that; function, comfort and pleasure.

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Jacobs-Yaniv Architects
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