The architect Tal Eyal, who is in charge of the Levant Fair pavilion preservation works currently underway, will focus on the already restored pavilion in the complex – the Produce of the Land palace, which was designed by the architect Richard Kaufmann and dedicated in 1934. It was the main pavilion at the original fair and showcased the achievements of Hebrew industry. Its ship-like design is considered one of the pinnacles of International Style architecture.

A tour led by Yossi Goldberg, highlighting the architectural-historical aspects of one of the largest events that took place in Tel Aviv in the 1930s – the Levant Fair, which was an international fair modeled after an expo (a world fair displaying various achievements). In honor of the fair, leading architects of the period designed a number of buildings in the International Style. The tour lasts about 90 minutes.

Architect: Dov Carmi, 1954

An open house at a villa whose construction was the outcome of an extraordinary dialog between the woman who commissioned it and the architect. It ultimately resulted in a building with a tranquil, reserved and unusual presence in the Tel Aviv landscape. Visitors will also have an opportunity to see the impressive art collection found in the house, which currently serves as a branch of the Open University`s Continuing Studies School.

 

Architect: Dov Karmi, 1954

Guided tours with Edly Dollar, a member of the Zachs family, at this modernistic villa which Ayala Zachs had built in the 1950s and later donated to the Open University. Dollar will recount the life story of Ayala Zachs, with all its interesting twists - who was a patron of the arts and died in her home in Jerusalem about two years ago. The tours will also include the works of art found in the house. The planning process whereby the villa was built will be described, whose design was clearly influenced by Le Corbusier. The close relationship that existed between Zachs and Dov Karmi (the villa`s architect) will be among the topics discussed.

Architect: the engineer David Tuvia, 1930-1931

An open house at the private residence of David and Paula Ben Gurion, offering a glimpse of the couple`s modest lifestyle and impressive library. Visitors can tour the house on their own or take part in a guided tour, which will be offered every hour on the hour for the first 40 people in line.

The Traffic Control Center, located on the roof of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality`s Engineering Administration, is where all of the city`s traffic is regulated. During the visit, the Center`s traffic engineers will explain how they manage to solve transportation-related problems created as a result of impaired infrastructures, various malfunctions, and the nature of the Israeli driver.

The Center is run using standard hardware as well as sophisticated software and communications systems (which the members of the staff developed themselves), in addition to an impressive share of intelligence, ingenuity, and insight.

An open house at an apartment that was recently remodeled by the young interior designer, Neta-Li Peled, where she and her partner live. It was originally a one-room apartment located in the rear of the building, containing only 37 square meters including the balconies! Following the renovation, it turned into a two-room, contemporary style apartment.

Two sessions with the architect Daniel Zarhy, a scion of a family of architects who have worked in the building on 150 Arlozorov Street since its construction in the 1970s (alongside Rechter Architects and Perry Engineers). Zarhy will recount the history of the building, which is intertwined with the history of Israeli architecture. He will also describe the facelift it recently underwent as part of Regional Zoning Plan 38, which included added stories, renewed facades, reinforcements (employing unconventional solutions), a redistribution of the spaces, and a mixing of uses. The sessions will include a tour of the building and a look at one of the new apartments that was added to it.

Interior architecture: Hila Amir Hollander, 2013

A small and old apartment (that is part of an upscale complex of apartment blocks on Zeitlin Street), which underwent a complete transformation. The result is a contemporary space featuring a novel design concept: four cubes that define the apartment`s living space through use of different materials. The common area is covered with wood, the bathroom is situated within a concrete cube, the office is enveloped by glass surfaces, and the bedroom is located inside a white cube. The green tree scenery, which surrounds the entire building, can be seen from all four cubes.

Architects: Sharon Architects in cooperation with Ranni Ziss Architects, 2010

A tour of the Sammy Ofer Heart Building, which is located in a tower whose four basement floors serve as an emergency underground hospital. The building was designed as a white cube with a contemporary glass shell that incorporates red urban windows – a metaphor of the heart`s `ventricle.` It features a central area with a network of red bridges that wind around like blood vessels and link the different wards. The building creates two new situations vis-à-vis its immediate surroundings: one of them due to the encounter with the old Ichilov Hospital building built in the 1960s (architect: Arieh Sharon), and the other due to the encounter with the street. It is a first-of-its-kind attempt in Israel to build a hospital that is connected to the street through an active façade, as opposed to being closed off like a gated campus.

Come and meet Shirili Kobi, who is spearheading an independent gardening initiative undertaken by residents, aimed at making the yards in the city greener, including the neglected areas found in between the buildings. The purpose of the yard gardening project is to convert these neglected areas – which are often sanitation hazards in the form of construction waste, thorns and trash – into blooming gardens containing useful plants (vegetables and spices) as well as decorative ones. Kobi will show and talk about the first garden she established in the yard of her own home, and expand on her vision and the challenges inherent in starting a garden in the yard of an apartment building. The tours will conclude with a visit at the garden located on 34 Be`eri Street, which was established by the neighborhood`s residents based on Kobi`s vision and under her guidance.

Is there room for wild fields in the big city? A tour with the leaders of a community project aimed at rehabilitating local nature and establishing an urban orchard. The activists will describe the rehabilitation process that has been undertaken in the area, and will also talk about the vision and insights they have gained while setting up the orchard in the past year. Students from the Ilanot school, members of the "Aviv" tribe of the Israel Scouts and local residents are among those involved in the project. The tour will be led by Hemda Drabkin, Tomer Keshet, Shelli Hodorov and Yonatan Heiman, who spearhead the project, as well as the architect, Yoav Shalem, who is accompanying it.

Come and learn about the wild plants – most of which are edible! – that grow in the yards of apartment buildings in downtown Tel Aviv.

The expert picker, Alon Eliran, who is doing a PhD in Environmental Studies, leads this tour.  It will pass through the yards of homes located in the area between Zeitlin Street and Maneh Street, where he will talk about the surprising variety of wild plants that grow there. The two-hour tour includes plant picking and tasting in shaded areas.

A tour with Gila Eliran and Michal Yehuda from the Sustainability Leaders Forum, at one of the last and untouched urban nature attractions in the city – a tributary of the Yarkon River that winds all along the eastern boundary of the Neve Sharet neighborhood. The tour includes a walk alongside the course of the river (which is dry this time of the year), whose banks are bursting with an abundance of wild plants. The last citrus grove remaining in Tel Aviv stands nearby as well. Tour participants will also hear about Eliran and Yehuda`s vision to turn the area into an urban nature reserve.

A chance to learn about the inspiring initiative undertaken by Maoz Aviv residents, designed to generate a positive change in their immediate surroundings, and hear from them how you can turn an existing neighborhood into a sustainable one. The tour will make a number of stops throughout the neighborhood, including meetings with the initiators of different projects being implemented there. Participants will be introduced to a neighborhood composter project for collecting organic waste, meet with a member of a condo committee whose building is implementing sustainability principles under the committee`s direction, and visit the Maoz Aviv community garden, which is one of the most active and flourishing gardens in the city. 

The tours will be led by Noa Regev, a local resident and activist in various green projects in Maoz Aviv, together with Barak Ben Hanan, who too is a resident and activist in different green projects in the neighborhood, in addition to being a partner in `The Forest Way` – a social enterprise engaged in permaculture planning, implementation and education (practical sustainability).

Galit Samuel, from the Residents Forum for Urban Nature and Environmental Protection, leads this tour in Ramat Aviv "A" – also known as Green Ramat Aviv. The tour will pass through groves and thickets of evergreen shrubs, underscoring the importance of their preservation for the environment, the ecosystems, the quality of life in the city, and the welfare of the animals that live there – and in particular, the long-eared hedgehogs, a species in danger of extinction (nationwide) which has found refuge among the shrubs in the neighborhood. Samuel will also talk about the "Wild in the City" project, aimed at stopping the use of herbicides and preserving wild plants in the city. The project began in Ramat Aviv and has in the meantime spread to other areas in Tel Aviv. The tour will end with a visit at the owl grove, where three tree owls reside.

The Forum`s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/forum.teva

Tours with the product designer Yael Stav in the yard of her home, which also serves as a sustainable design studio and a lab for vertical gardening experiments. The yard is full of creative solutions and products that enable agriculture to thrive even in the city, without requiring a lot of land. These solutions include hanging plants, garden beds within fences, `live` curtains, a vertical composter, and gardening within a closet that has drawers.

Guerrilla Lighting is coming to town!

The alternative event that has illuminated the most unusual buildings around the world in the past decade, meant to modify our urban experience, will take place for the first time in Tel Aviv as part of Houses From Within. Based on a preplanned choreography, scores of light shooters, equipped with colorful and highly powerful torches, will take two different routes in downtown Tel Aviv, stopping at buildings designated for preservation and illuminating them with architectural lighting for several minutes.

The tours will be open to the public, and everyone is invited to experience the buildings in a new light.

The first lighting tour, held on Thursday night, will include Bauhaus buildings in the White City zone. The additional tour, held on Saturday night, will incorporate both Bauhaus buildings as well as eclectic buildings in the vicinity of Bialik Square.

The Tel Aviv event is being produced by Studio Twilight`s Eylon Gavish, the architectural lighting designer, in cooperation with dozens of design students.

 
Guerrilla Lighting Around Bialik Square

Meeting place: the corner of Bialik St. and Allenby St. (across from Café Bialik)

As soon as the group gathers at the scheduled hour, the light shooters will make their way along Bialik Street and first illuminate the building located on 18 Bialik Street. The rest of the route includes the Bauhaus building on Bialik Street, Bialik House, and two buildings on Idelson Street: 30 Idelson and 23 Idelson. This lighting tour will end at the old City Hall building (Beit Ha`Ir) located on Bialik Square. The tour lasts about an hour.

As soon as the group gathers at the scheduled hour, the light shooters will set out and illuminate the building on 64 Pinsker Street. The rest of the route includes the abandoned kiosk on Beilinson Street, the old Ohel Theater on 6 Beilinson Street, the Kabbalah Center on 14 Beilinson Street, and the Cinema Hotel on Dizengoff Square. This lighting tour will end at the beautiful Bauhaus building located on the corner of the square, on 96 Dizengoff Street. The tour lasts about an hour.

Project development and management: Atarim Tel Aviv Beach Company; Landscape and development architects: Mayslits-Kassif Architects; Lead architect: Maor Roitman

A tour with the architects of the project (currently in the final stages of its first phase), whose aim is to renew this promenade that was designed by Yaakov Rechter in the 1980s. The plan is also to reinforce the connection between the city and the beach by installing steps that will enable people to sit facing the sea and make the shoreline more accessible to them. The tour will talk about the idea of the promenade`s continuity, the phases of its design, the considerations taken into account when making planning and design decisions, and the public and legal processes that were carried out.