Inside Tel Aviv’s modern masterpieces
Exploring the world’s most complete modernist city
By Lisa Goldman
Over a weekend this summer, Tel Aviv was one big open house.
From the narrow streets of Old Jaffa in the south to the pastoral campus of Tel Aviv University in the north, ordinary people who live in extraordinary homes opened their doors to the public. Hundreds queued, with a patience practically unknown in the Middle East, for an opportunity to view the sleek penthouses of hi-tech millionaires, the bohemian lofts of downtown artists and the beautifully restored Bauhaus apartments that won Tel Aviv international acclaim. “At least 1,500 people walked through my loft in just two hours,” recounted one artist in amazement.
Houses from Within is an annual event in May. It offers people an opportunity to view Tel Aviv’s architectural gems – many of them relatively unknown – and to gain a deeper understanding of the city’s unique urban environment. The colourful, glossy pamphlet lists dozens of homes, private buildings and public institutions, but it also includes guided tours of neglected historical buildings slated for restoration, eco-friendly urban projects, public gardens and quirky neighbourhoods. The architects and urban anthropologists who lead the tours share fascinating details and insights into Tel Aviv’s rich architectural history and innovative urban planning.
The organisers were amazed and delighted to discover the depth of passion that Tel Avivians feel for their city. Tel Aviv has no grand monuments, elegant mansions or archaeological sites. It is a quintessentially modern city – the only city with a core that was constructed almost entirely in the International Style. It is a city that was designed to promote social interaction by building residential neighbourhoods that are combined with commercial areas, which together spill into public gardens.
This revolutionary philosophy of International Style architecture blossomed in Europe during the period between the two World Wars. It is characterised by clean lines, simplicity and egalitarianism. This movement’s chief proponents were Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who ran the Bauhaus school in Weimar, Germany from 1919 until 1932, when the Nazis closed it down. Another influence came from Le Corbusier in France.
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 – making this year the city’s centennial, which local inhabitants are celebrating with great enthusiasm. For the first two decades of the young city’s existence, growth was slow: it was hobbled by the political upheaval of World War I and its aftermath, as well as low immigration and a lack of funds.
The nascent architectural style of Tel Aviv’s original cluster of buildings was eclectic, combining Orientalist, Jewish and European themes in a hodge-podge that is characterised by wrought-iron balconies, mosaic tiles, Jewish candelabras and Arabian arched windows.
During the 1930s, when thousands of European refugees came to Palestine in urgent need of housing, local architects trained in the International Style came up with an inexpensive solution that suited the forward-looking, modern attitudes of the young pioneers.
They adapted the European International style of architecture to the hot and sticky Mediterranean climate – less glass, more ventilation and shade – and designed hundreds of boxy, three- and four-storey residential buildings. Many have elegant touches such as curving balconies and round windows.
Between 1935 and 1947, approximately 4,000 International Style residential buildings were constructed in Tel Aviv.
Rent control laws that made upkeep unprofitable,
combined with the suburban migration common to so many cities during the 1960s and 1970s, led to a protracted period of decline for Tel Aviv. The neglected buildings in the centre began to crumble under the onslaught of the relentless Mediterranean sun and the salty sea air. Slum landlords enclosed the balconies in ugly plastic shutters, sometimes adding iron security bars – which promptly rusted – for good measure.
Tel Aviv looked sad and rundown until the 1990s. Suddenly, the city was becoming cool again. Young people returned to the centre for the cheap rents, and they stayed on after they became middle class. The rent control laws were lifted, making it profitable for landlords to renovate in return for higher rents. Today, Tel Aviv is experiencing a renaissance: it is easily one of the most exciting cities in the world in terms of nightlife, dining and culture.
In 2004, Unesco designated Tel Aviv – sometimes called the White City – an international heritage site. The city is now undergoing extensive restoration, and is well on its way to surpassing the glory it earned in the 1930s, when it was the world’s most modern city.
The idea for Houses from Within came from a young couple who, naturally, live in a stylishly renovated apartment in the centre of Tel Aviv. Alon Ben-Nun teaches architecture at the prestigious Bezalel School of Art and Design. He and his wife, journalist Aviva Levinson, were inspired by similar open house events that they had enjoyed in Paris and New York. “We thought it would be easy to organize in Tel Aviv, which is a much smaller city,” they said, laughing ruefully. It turned out to be one of the biggest projects they’d ever undertaken – but also one of the most gratifying, they insist.
They were helped by many volunteers, including some of Ben-Nun’s architecture students. MP Nitzan Horowitz of the leftist Meretz party, a former journalist who is passionate about environmental issues, led a guided tour of central Tel Aviv. He offered a running commentary on the city’s successes and failures in environmental terms, offering solutions and revealing municipal plans for various improvements. Ben-Nun and Levinson were also gratified to discover how easy it was to convince homeowners to participate. “Basically, we just asked our friends – or knocked on the doors of strangers,” he says. “Almost no-one refused. Tel Aviv is a very casual city.”
I asked them to suggest five significant Tel Aviv buildings that every visitor should see. “No,” said Ben-Nun, as his wife nodded in agreement. “You are missing the point of Tel Aviv. It’s not about the individual buildings, it’s about the texture of the city – its streets, its neighbourhoods and its unique atmosphere. If you like, I can name five areas that everyone should visit.” And so he did.
Alon Ben-nun’s five highlights
Old Jaffa
The ancient port city of Jaffa. Its winding alleys are lined with shops, museums and restaurants. Ben-Nun recommends Na Laga’at (Do Touch), a beautiful theatre for deaf and blind actors. The café is staffed entirely by deaf waiters.
Neve Tzedek
Founded at the end of the 19th century by the Jewish community in Jaffa, Neve Tzedek was eventually swallowed up by Tel Aviv. Today it looks and feels like an artists’ colony, fully restored and packed with fashionable shops and cafés, it is a lovely place to stroll.
The North Port
Recently restored after years of disuse, the north port boasts a popular wooden boardwalk that is lined with excellent restaurants, shops, galleries and cafés. The north port also has a popular nightlife scene.
The American Colony at Jaffa
Evangelical Christians from Maine brought logs of wood from their home state when they arrived in Jaffa with the intention of settling in the Holy Land. The homes and church they built survive and were recently restored. Visit the Maine Friendship House for a history of this colony.
Bialik Street
Named for Chaim Nachman Bialik, Israel’s poet laureate, who built his Oriental-style home – now a museum – here in the 1920s. Bialik Street is a microcosm of Tel Aviv, with perfectly restored International Style apartment buildings facing the original, eclectic municipality building.
International style spots
Rothschild Boulevard
A stroll along Rothschild Boulevard (pictured above) is an essential Tel Aviv experience. Starting from Herzl Street – which, together with Rothschild, formed the city’s first intersection – the tree-shaded boulevard is lined with significant buildings. Many have undergone extensive restoration.
Cinema Hotel
With its sparkling white exterior and long, elegantly curved balconies, the Cinema Hotel dominates Dizengoff Square. It was once, as its name suggests, one of the Tel Aviv’s main cinemas. Neglected for years, it was rescued by the owners of a boutique hotel chain and restored to Art Deco glory.
Kastiel Furniture Compound
In an industrial area of south Tel Aviv (36 Alfassi Street), the compound is a 5,000 square metre space that belongs to the Kastiel family of furniture and interior designers. The compound was constructed in 1932 as a textile factory; the Kastiels oversaw a beautiful restoration that highlights its Art Deco and International Style details.
