Nathan Alterman "Tichonet" High School, 3 Shoshana Persitz St.

Architects: Elyakim Architects, 2012

An opportunity to hear from the architects of the Nathan Alterman "Tichonet" High School about its unique design concept, which in Israel constitutes a groundbreaking approach to planning educational institutions as open city campuses. The school, which was founded by the Municipality, is the hub of a future community-based, educational campus that shapes the municipal domains of the center of a new neighborhood that is scheduled to be established in the area.

The architect David Kroyanker, one of the most prominent researchers of the history of architecture and urban planning in Jerusalem, invites you to visit his archive, whose materials he has collected during 45 years of documentation and research (most of which has been published in his books). The archive, surprisingly located in Ramat Aviv, contains close to 30,000 documents. Visitors will be shown rare documents and hear about Kroyanker`s research and how he has collected and classified the materials.

Meeting place: 12 Beit El St., the Neve Sharett Commercial Center

The architect Sagie Tamari, from the Northern Planning Department at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, leads this tour of the Neve Sharett neighborhood. He will talk about the research currently being conducted together with the architects Nili Puch and Erez Ella, aimed at formulating a policy blueprint for the neighborhood. The research includes data collection and mapping processes that uncover the opportunities inherent in the neighborhood, the intentions of its original planners, and in particular those of the architect Robert Bennett, who designed the neighborhood in the 1950s as clusters of apartment buildings flanked by parking spots and gardens. The tour, which will focus on the area north of the commercial center, lasts about 90 minutes.

The Yolanda and David Katz Faculty of the Arts at Tel Aviv University invites you to two sessions with the architect Tamir Lavi from the David Azrieli School of Architecture. Lavi runs Dr. Eran Neuman`s Architectural Fabrication Lab, where digital design and production methods for use in architecture are developed. He will talk about the instruments used in the lab, the 3D printer, the laser cutter and the 3D scanner. Each session lasts about 40 minutes.

Tours of the Film Archive with the architect Daniel Wachthel from the David Azrieli School of Architecture, and Mr. Liviu Carmeli from the Department of Film, who founded and manages the archive. The archive was recently renovated according to designs made by students who took a yearlong seminar at the School of Architecture, under the guidance of Daniel Wachthel. The tours will highlight the unique challenges of the project, the different alternatives that were proposed, and the rationale underlying the design that was ultimately selected.

Original building architect: Yehezkel Rosenberg, 1966; Added wings architect: Yoram Raz, 1990-2012

The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University opens its doors for a morning of music and architecture, offering visitors a look at one of the most impressive modernist buildings on campus and at what goes on inside its walls.

At 9:00 and 11:00 in the Targ Auditorium, the architects Yoram Raz and Aaron Vix will talk about the building and the wings that were added to it over the years, including the acoustical attributes of the different spaces.

At 10:00 and 12:00, there will be guided tours of the building with the architects Yoram Raz and Aaron Vix.

The first part of the "A La Boker" opera performance will be presented at 10:00 in the Clairmont Concert Hall, featuring a selection of arias, duets and ensembles from the world`s best operas. The performance, accompanied by piano, will be put on by the School of Music`s opera ensemble under the direction of Prof. Tamar Rachum. The second part of "A La Boker" will be preformed at 11:00 in the Clairmont Concert Hall, and its third part at 12:00 in the Clairmont Concert Hall.

Have you ever asked yourself where an alligator sleeps, or when the light goes on in a bat`s home? The Zoological Garden at Tel Aviv University will be holding seven tours for the entire family, which will focus on the habitats of different animals that live at the garden. These habitats were designed, built and adapted to their unique needs. Each tour lasts about an hour and is limited to 30 participants on a first come, first served basis.

Why is a cactus prickly and plump, and why does a pine tree have needles rather than leaves? The Botanical Garden at Tel Aviv University will be holding seven tours for the entire family, during which the habitats and characteristic landscapes of various plants that grow in Israel and other places will be presented. Each tour lasts about an hour and is limited to 30 participants on a first come, first served basis.

A chance to become familiar with the community garden at Tel Aviv University, which was started about five years ago in order to study and experiment with different methods of sustainable agriculture in an urban environment. Alon Eliran, one of the garden`s founders and activists, will talk about the ideas that led to the establishment of the garden and the agricultural methods used there.

A tour of the Ramat Aviv neighborhood, which was planned by the architects Robert Bennett and Yitzhak Perlstein, together with the landscape architect, Dan Zur. Their plans reflected modernistic thinking and a socialist vision, which led to the neighborhood being called "Tafnit" (which in Hebrew means a change of direction) – due its distinctiveness compared to other apartment block neighborhoods built in the 1950s. The tour will be led by the architects Eran Wexler, from the Municipality`s Northern Planning Department, and Anat Tcherbinsky, who is currently editing a policy document dealing with the neighborhood`s renewal. They will talk about the history of Ramat Aviv, its qualities and its present situation. They will also address the dilemmas, challenges and planning approaches to renewal that are currently under review and are based on textural preservation as a tool for controlled development.

The architects Motti Bodek and Dan Price, residents of the neighborhood, will accompany the tour.

Interior architecture: Tal Bahir-Gotthilf and Mali Yemin, 2012

A brief look at a four-room apartment in a tenement building, originally designed by Rechter-Zarhi-Rechter in the 1950s, which was recently enlarged under Regional Zoning Plan 38. The fact that the apartment has two exposures and that both of its facades were extended, posed an architectural challenge to the designers: how to maintain the sense of spaciousness, on the one hand, and efficient ventilation, on the other.

Architects: Moshe Safdie; Fellow architect: Zahi Halberstadt, 2005

Sessions with Zahi Halberstadt, the building`s architect, and with Uri Abramson, the museum`s planner and designer, during which they will explain the conceptual approach underlying the design of the Rabin Center – a project commemorating the late Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin – and The Israeli Museum located inside of it – which depicts the annals of the State of Israel and Yitzhak Rabin`s life story. The sessions will include a presentation and tour of the building, which is surrounded by gardens and features dove-shaped roofs.

A chance to become acquainted with two architecture firms that share a common office space. Hear from them about their approaches to planning, their sources of inspiration, and the techniques they`ve employed in their work over the years. Both firms will spotlight a number of projects they designed (which will be described in detail during the discussions): Eran Binderman and Rama Dotan from Do Architecture will focus on the Remez Tower in Tel Aviv (In collaboration with Moshe Zur Architects), private residences, and resorts they designed around the world; Osnat Mamon from Mamon Architects will present a culture and recreation complex built at the Agricultural Farm in Holon, a boutique hotel in the Swiss Alps, and an affordable housing project in Philadelphia.

Architect: Ilan Halachmi, 2013

A tiny apartment in the old northern part of the city, which was remodeled as an urban refuge for a couple whose family spends most of their time outside Tel Aviv. The apartment, whose design is up-to-date and Tel Avivian, also contains allusions and tributes to Japanese culture, which is associated with the couple`s professional pursuits. These elements include, for example, shoji (sliding) doors that divide the common area from the bedroom, tokonomas (alcoves in the wall where objects of art are displayed), etc.

ZeZeZe Gallery invites you to a discussion dealing with architecture competitions, which will be held further to a competition initiated by the gallery for designing an outpatient treatment center in Beer-Sheva for mentally challenged adults. The discussion will focus on the obstacles currently faced by those who initiate architecture competitions in Israel, as well as the interests that prevent institutions from doing so. Ideas for improving the planning climate in the country will be raised. An exhibit of the winning proposals for the outpatient treatment center in Beer-Sheva will also be displayed by their designers.

Come and see an exhibit of historic photographs from the Tel Aviv Port`s archive, currently on display on the pier (next to the historic crane). The photographs, which date back to the 1930s, document the process of the port`s establishment, the loading of the first shipment of oranges, the first passenger ship that docked at Tel Aviv`s Hebrew port, the construction of the first passenger terminal, and more.

A tour led by Iris Baratz, the CEO of Otzar Marine Industries Ltd., which has been running the Tel Aviv Port since it was founded 75 years ago. She will explain how the leading entertainment and recreation complex in Israel was built, the business, social and financial rationale underlying its existing mix of business establishments, the investments made in public spaces, and the attempt to reach out to large and diverse audiences. A story that includes history, strategy, and future plans. 

The tour will end at an exhibition of the Port`s famous concrete benches, which have been donated by the Port to nonprofit organizations and various sites throughout the country.

Experiential architectural drawing workshops and a tour of the port`s surroundings, led by the artist Uri Aharoni from the "Cavim Banamal" Center for Design and Architecture. The workshops will begin at the Center and provide basic tools associated with urban drawing. "Cavim Banamal" is located in one of the port`s original hangars built in 1936, which has been revamped and adapted, and now serves as a school of design and a center for designers and architects. Each workshop lasts about 2½ hours.

In honor of the dedication of the Renewed Levant Fair, the White City Exhibition is coming back to town.

The current exhibition includes sections of the White City Exhibition that was first shown at the Tel Aviv Museum in the summer of 2004, marking the first anniversary of UNESCO`s declaration of Tel Aviv`s White City as a World Heritage Site.

The present version of the exhibition incorporates a number of experiential elements.

Tel Aviv`s White City – the historic urban fabric which we have come to know, appreciate and love – constitutes the largest architectural concentration of International Style (Bauhaus) buildings in the world.

The fact that the exhibition will be on display at the Levant Fair – the historic home of the International Center for Exhibitions and Fairs and part of the White City zone - is the closing of a symbolic circle and a type of salute to the architects of the period and the city`s builders.

The renewed exhibition is being curated by Prof. Nitza Szmuk (who also curated the original exhibition), in cooperation with the architect Tal Eyal and Smadar Timor.
The exhibition opens on Thursday, May 2^nd, and will remain on display for two months until the end of June as part of the Renewed Levant Fair dedication events.

The architect Tzadik Elyakim from Elyakim Architects, whose firm is in charge of the Levant Fair renewal and development project, will talk about the plan for the site which aims to restore the fairgrounds complex to its former glory. The plan, currently in an advanced stage of implementation, divides the fairgrounds into six sections, each with a different character, and refurbishes the walkways between the port and the fairgrounds in order to create an uninterrupted link between the port, the city, and the Yarkon peninsula. The tour lasts about an hour.