Location
Haifa, Israel
Year
Completed 2021
Project area
1060 m²
The project is located in Bat Galim (in Hebrew: Daughter of the Waves) neighborhood in Haifa, at the foot of Mount Carmel on the Mediterranean coast. Bat Galim is one of the few neighborhoods in Israel whose houses lie on the beachfront, so the project is located less than 200 meters from the water. The neighborhood was established in the 1920s as a garden suburb, designed by the Bauhaus Architect, Richard Kaufmann. On the project, site was a 2-floor building, built in the International style, whose deteriorated physical condition required its demolition. With respect to its historic value and the unique character of the neighborhood, the first architectural decision we took was to conserve 3 exterior walls of the old building’s original façade and erect a new 5-floor building, above underground parking, containing 6 apartments behind it. The gap between the old façade and the new building encloses a patio, and the entrance to the newly built building is made through the original façade and patio. Another dominant element is on the new building's west façade, facing the patio and street. 2/3rds of the façade are made with 5-10 cm spaced Terracotta clinker rods, exposing the floor lobbies, and further blurring the division between interior and exterior areas. A metal bridge connects the 1st-floor lobby to the Bauhaus-style balconies of the original building, thus creating an additional landscape for the users of the project.
© 2024 Erez Shani Architecture