A woman walking down the street in front of a building with a gr

January 17, 2025

Words: Peter Webster

Photography: Amit Geron

With Mediterranean Sea Views, This Home Is An Architectural Gem

2024 Best of Year Winner for International Small City House

Overlooking the old Mediterranean port, this 2,700-square-foot, three-story town house in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel, by Pitsou Kedem Architects responds to its setting by wrapping the upper floors in terra-cotta masonry, a material sympathetic to the historic neighborhood’s architectural fabric. Comprising 14,000 custom-made bricks, the shell appears as a solid wall on some facades and a perforated screen on others—the latter a contemporary interpretation of traditional mashrabiya latticework, a ubiquitous element in Islamic architecture. One screen separates a patio from the street, providing passersby with a glimpse into the cool, planted courtyard it encloses, while the top-floor living room is bordered by a stainless-steel swimming pool that appears to merge with the sea spread out before it.

A pool with a view of the ocean
A woman walking down the street in front of a building with a gr
A kitchen with a black counter top and a wooden wall


PROJECT TEAM: HILA WEISS-SELA.

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