Located in Tel Aviv’s “White City”, declared UNESCO World Heritage because of its Bauhaus-style buildings dating to the 20’s and 30’s, here is an apartment combining the historical value of its exterior with the modern practical appeal of the interior design. This 120 square meter space has been completely re-designed by Sfaro: founded by Bosmat Sfadia-Wolf (1979) and Nir Rothem (1977), the studio focuses on quality projects aimed at solving real-life problems.

To meet the needs of the clients – a university professor and a web designer – willing to have a private office, a guest bathroom and a room for the man’s son – the project relies on an interesting space solution. All the storage closets, air conditioning vents, pipes and infrastructure are all condensed into an elongated “spine” running along the apartment, from the guest toilets, through the back-to-back storage units of the bedroom and kitchen, reaching the washing machine area. This helps to separate the layout into two distinctive zones: the private and the social. Thanks to the merging of both kitchen and dining area, a spare room – hosting the former kitchen – was created and turned into the couple’s office.

The new kitchen, characterized by concrete tiles, displays a cooking and work top facing the guests, in order not to turn the back towards them. The office features a recycled 1940’s floor from a Warehouse in Tel Aviv. Light plays a big part in the apartment, as proved by the employment of glass doors to separate one room from the other: dining and living room are split via an original door from the Thirties whilst the dining room and the office are divided by a new ad hoc piece.

Thanks to the employment of local materials and suppliers, the project – completed in 2012 – emphasizes both past and present of Tel Aviv.

INFO: www.sfaro.co.il

PHOTO COURTESY: Shai Epstein