New York firm Richard Meier & Partners completed both its first project in Israel and its first international residential tower. The design is inspired by the Bauhaus design principles brought in by German Jewish architects who began immigrating to Israel before WWII in Tel Aviv’s White City—a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the firm’s press release, the city holds the world’s largest concentration of this architectural genre. Built from 1931 to 1956, the Israeli city boasts about 4,000 total buildings.
While Richard Meier is famous for his abstracted geometric designs that are prominently white (and earned him such honors like the Pritzker Prize and AIA Gold Medal), several aspects of the design are inspired by multiple areas of the Middle Eastern country, such as clothing, the local architecture, and coastal environment. The layered façade comprised of clear glass with a white louver screen gives the the building lightness and transparency, which is likened to traditional Middle Eastern Clothing. The prominent corner balconies take a cue from low to mid-rise level buildings within the neighborhood, and the Penthouse terraces get a special treat with its large “urban windows," which provide expansive western views to the Mediterranean Sea.
