A Tel Aviv loft apartment located in the iconic Zamenhof Clinic building, whose unfussy Bauhaus style has been preserved in the building’s 21st century transformation into a luxurious residential complex.
architect Irit Axelrod converted a vast asymmetrical 200 sq.m (2,700 sq.ft) light-filled shell into a modern loft pared back to expose the original structure – the rough concrete ceiling, a heavy structural pillar and the electricity and aircon ducts are all on show – creating a home tailored to the owner’s lifestyle and the perfect showcase for his art and book collections.
Challenged by an oddly angular space in a non-orthogonal building, Axelrod chose to “override” the angles, as it were, by treating the entire space as one, broken only by a black, free-standing rectangular ‘container’ with a black patina finish. As the container does not touch any perimeter wall it appears to float in the space. One of its long sides provides a backdrop to the living room, but this is deceptive as it’s more than a wall on which to display art – the container conceals a stylish en suite bathroom, guest bathroom and powder room, storage and a laundry room.
The repetitive, equidistant windows of identical size located along most of the apartment’s exterior walls – a legacy of the building’s former purpose as doctors’ offices – presented a second challenge. A simple black shelving system dances across the longest wall, sculpturally relieving and interacting with the windows’ uniformity.