2017       Lilienblum 14  /  Tel Aviv

Client: Sivan Holdings Ltd.
Size: 1500sqm
Program: 14 units
Photo: Amit Geron

Joseph Rudi House was built in 1939 and served for residence. The building is one of the first residences in the "Central Tel Aviv" neighborhood, which is part of the historic seed of the city. The house is one of the only residences still owned by the original family, the family of Joseph Rudi, one of Israel's pioneer photographers. Rudi's famous studio, "Ha'Zalmania", was located in the house on 14 Lilienblum Street.
The new addition to the original building is the opposite of the typical eclectic style of the "Ahuzat Bait" buildings, yet both become one homogeneous unit by the use of black zinc tin which coats the roof, the walls, the shafts and the window ledges. The monolithic colour enhances the solid, sculptural appearance of the building, designed by the many functional elements placed outside of the clean space of the apartments.
The design of the addition corresponds with the geometry of the original tiled roofs that were typical of the eclectic Tel Aviv residences, and its zinc walls frame the urban landscape.
The floor plan is simple, yet the changing vertical levels create a dynamic experience and a slanted orientation inside the apartments, which gives them a "lofty" feel. The addition's distorted and slanted body literally adheres to the conservation plan's restrictions. Every single pointed peak in the roof depicts maximum height permitted. The amorphous shape of the addition helps to integrate the project's fragmental appearance with its surroundings. This project faces the remains of the old Tel Aviv settlement as on a theatrical set: standing on the front, with the old buildings in the back stage and the city in the background.