The project is located in the heart of the historic town of Jaffa on the plot overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the port of Jaffa - one of the oldest ports in the world dating back to the 15th century, where Napoleon's army visited it in 1799. Old Jaffa was built on a cliff which is actually an aeolianite stone hill. To this day, many historic buildings in the area are built out of this local stone. Over the years, our studio has designed several historical buildings of this type, in which the central motif was the preservation of the original motives.

In this project, the approach is different because it is a new construction within an old Jaffa fabric. The program defined by the clients was for a 3-story family townhouse building with a basement. Out of a desire to refer to the preservation ideas and the common use of natural and local materials, we chose to wrap the upper floors of the house in terracotta bricks that underwent a burning process. Using the bricks, we created an outer shell that is influenced by the idea of the "Mashrabiya" in traditional Islam, a common structural element in this region for 300 years which originates from the Ottoman period.

The "Mashrabiya" is suitable for the local climate and allows to regulate the penetration of the sun into the spaces of the house, while allows to control the privacy of the residents of the house, to reduce the view inside and allow a filtered view outside.

The element was installed from 14,000 individual bricks that were made in a costume-made mold for the project and were installed one on top of the other using stainless steel rods.

In some cases, the brick wall is perforated and installed in front of openings and windows, and in some cases, it is a solid and sealed wall. In perhaps the most interesting part, they form a standalone wall that is placed as a partition between a three-story patio and the street, thus creating an inner courtyard typical of the place. On the patio, plant a local Plumeria tree and passers-by can glimpse it through the gaps between the bricks.

The house is built on 3 levels, with the patio dug up to the basement floor allowing natural light and air to enter the bedrooms in the basement. On the first floor are the kitchen and the dining area and on the roof floor is the living room, next to a large balcony overlooking historic Jaffa and a church. Along the living room terrace, a stainless-steel swimming pool allows a beautiful connection between the pool water and the Mediterranean Sea on the horizon.

The design is embedded with industrial elements, exposed construction columns and a unique perforated iron staircase. The penetration of light through the holes in the staircase railing completes the unique effect of the mashrabiya and enables a variety of views through the different layers of the project.