Projects
A house with a pool in its center in Tel Aviv
Compared to other high budget luxury villas, this house is not huge – built area of 300 square meters on a 350 square meters plot – a two-family house (with a joined wall to the neighbors' house), home to a couple with four teenagers. They preferred this plot over a bigger one due to the convenient location of the neighborhood, in the northern part of Tel Aviv.
From the outside, the house does not seem unusual. The real surprise unravels from the direction of the backyard: a long and bluish pool was built along the joint wall, and it sort of penetrates the house and "accompanies" the living room lengthwise. In order to intensify its effect, the walls in its borders are made of clear glass, and so are the walls of the house's three story staircase. The result: the pool can be seen from different locations in the house – from the other end as well as from the upper floor – and it sparkles in light blue from different angles.
The location of the plot – with streets and public parks on both sides – posed a design challenge to the architects, Hila and Dan Israelevitz. In order to ensure the privacy of the residents, they decided to create an opaque façade to the street as much as possible, with minimal windows. "Separation strips" made of aluminum break off the mass of the structure. "Building in the city, with its crowdedness, dictates restraint towards the street", says Israelevitz. And so, as the house is closed and Spartan to the street, it is open and full of light in the back. The pool serves as an element that separates between the attached houses, a sort of patio that creates an additional façade, filling the house with air and light. Due to the fact that it can be seen from any angle in the house, it creates a feeling of an open space and an illusion of size.
The entrance door, three meters wide, opens toward the staircase. The door is part of a vertical window 9 meters high, while the roof "floats" above the two parts of the building, from both sides.
The staircase connects the three stories of the house. From one side the living room and the pool, and from the other side the dining room and kitchen. The guests' bathroom has been moved to the basement, so as to not disrupt the flow in the space. The stairs were made of concrete, disconnected from the walls, and they were covered up with white marble, same as the rest of the floors. The glass handrails were immersed in the concrete, while their joints are hidden. A skylight window was built in the top part, pouring natural light into the staircase.
The living room has two glass walls with minimal frames. White steel support columns were built in the space, with a "floating" plaster roof and lighting strips all around. The sitting area includes a long reverse leather sofa, two sand color upholstered armchairs and a stainless steel table with a grooved wood surface. Narrow and long strip windows are located above the sofa.
Strip windows are also located on the other side of the floor, accompanying the L-shaped kitchen cabinets, with a kitchen island in the middle serving for eating and working. The kitchen cabinets were painted white, same as the corian surface. The dining area is located in front of the kitchen, aside a wall full of storage, electricity and air-conditioning system cabinets. An open niche in the cabinet was covered with walnut wood veneer, and two illuminated shelves were installed in it. A square dining table for eight people is made of wood, covered with wood venner with a nonopaque white finish, standing on a central leg made of wood and stainless steel. The eight tobacco-colored leatherette chairs have stainless steel legs too.
The parent's master bedroom and two children's bedrooms are located in the upper floor, which is covered with natural oak tree parquet. A floating bridge separates the two sections; the entrance door can be seen on the right side of the bridge. The master bedroom has an especially large window, from which the pool and the public garden in front of the house can be seen.
A brown leather upholstered bed and two nightstands made of natural wood are in the master bedroom; attached to the room are a wardrobe whose door has been integrated in the white cabinets' wall and an en-suite bathroom with a separating frosted glass. The bathroom's floor was covered with concrete texture granite-porcelain white tiles. The shower stall includes a spacious bench and teak wood floor.
The children's bathroom paved with grey granite-porcelain tiles. The floors were covered with rectangular white tiles. A "floating" straight lines cabinet was installed, colored grey-light blue. An additional bedroom is located in the attic; its windows are hidden in the wooden rulers that cover the entrance door too. A deck tiled roof can be accessed from the room.
An office and screening room are located in the basement, with glass windows that open to lower patios. A tobacco colored sofa was located in front of a large TV screen. The walls of the guests' bathroom were covered with a white-greyish mosaic. A free standing white corian sink was placed in front of the patio door. The patio's floor was covered with pebbles. This way the whole floor is illuminated as if it was in the ground level.
Presented by Dan and Hila Israelevitz Architects