Double-height glass doors slide back to open up an entire facade of this house in Israel by architect Pitsou Kedem (+ slideshow).

Israel-based Pitsou Kedem placed the open-plan lounge, dining areas and kitchen between two outdoor spaces so they would receive light from both east and west.

"This provides a feeling that the space is constantly enveloped by natural light and the greenery of the trees in the courtyard," said the architect.

The six-metre-high living area is fronted with giant sheets of glass, which slide open on an electric motor to connect the inside to an expansive terrace.

From the end of the back garden, a long thin infinity pool looks like it extends into the house.

A courtyard at the front of the property is sunk to the basement level, with terraced planters stepping down to the excavated area from the boundary wall.

Floating steps lead up from the front gate to a bridge, which connects to the entrance in the three-storey volume parallel to the street.

The home comprises two perpendicular intersecting volumes and the smaller cuboid housing the bedrooms protrudes into the kitchen space, next to the swivelling front door.

Staircases on the other side go down to the children's living room and up to a mezzanine balcony.

Apart from heavy concrete and white rendered end walls, all rooms are glazed from floor to ceiling but can be veiled with white curtains. Shutters roll down in front of the huge glass wall for privacy and security.

Pitsou Kedem's other projects include a family house with timber screens that fold back in all different directions and a furniture showroom inside an industrial warehouse.

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Photography is by Amit Geron.

Read on for more information from the architects:

Between two courtyards

A private residence, built between two, central courtyards.

A frontal courtyard excavated to a depth of three meters and the second courtyard at the level of the building's ground floor.

This topographical interface creates a unique cross section to the building's mass with each part of the building, even the section constructed as a basement, being open to its own courtyard.

The central space of the kitchen, the dining room and the living room is open in two directions – to the west and to the east. This provides a feeling that the space is constantly enveloped by natural light and the greenery of the trees in the courtyard.

The structure's central space, set in the centre of the plot, is accessed via a long bridge that crosses the sunken courtyard and leads to the front door.

From the bridge, we can see the children's living rooms which open into the basement.

The house's central space rises to a height of six meters and is 17 metres long.

There are no pillars in the space and the entire front is transparent with glass windows that slide apart with the aid of an electric motor.

Thus, the entire interior of the home opens into the courtyard and the border between inside and outside is cancelled.

The swimming pool seems as if it extends into the structure and, when looking into the house from the courtyard, the house in reflected in the pool which strengthens our impression of the building's mass.

The master bedroom is set on the second floor and opens onto the double space and the courtyard allowing for a view of the entire plot.

The structures two supporting side walls have been emphasised, one was poured from exposed, architectural concrete and on the other a large library reaches to its full height.

Architecture: Pitsou Kedem Architects
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Nurit Ben Yosef

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Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem has exposed vaulted ceilings and stone walls inside this renovated house in the ancient port of Jaffa, Tel Aviv (+ slideshow).

Pitsou Kedem restored the historical building, estimated to be hundreds of years old, by stripping back the interior to reveal walls of broken clay and shells, vaulted ceilings and large internal archways.

Small pockets are hollowed from the walls at various heights and are used to create storage areas and a desk.

"The central idea was to combine the old and new whilst maintaining the qualities of each and to create new spaces that blend the styles together, even intensify them, because of the contrast and tension between the different periods," said the studio.

A set of three pivoting glass doors frame the downstairs bedroom, while a new kitchen extension on the west side of the house features a long window with views over the Mediterranean ocean.

Tall windows also lead out from the living room next door to a small wooden balcony.

An iron staircase is set into the exposed concrete wall of the living room and is screened by a double-height balustrade of suspended wire cables. It ascends to a master bedroom on the mezzanine floor above.

Exposed concrete flooring throughout the house is covered with a mixture of patterned and textured rugs.

"The project succeeds in both honouring and preserving the historical and almost romantic values of the structure whilst creating a contemporary project, modern and suited to its period," added the designers.

Pitsou Kedem has also recently completed a house with double-height glass doors, a renovated 1950s house with a stone mosaic wall and a family house with timber screens that fold back in different directions.

See more architecture by Pitsou Kedem »
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Photography is by Amit Geron.

Here's a project description from the architects:

Jaffa House: contemporary minimalism and historical asceticism

The language of minimalism imbedded in a historic residence in Old Jaffa. The 180 square meter residential home is located in Old Jaffa. Its location is unique in that it is set above the harbour, facing west with all of its openings facing the majestic splendour of the Mediterranean Sea.

Whilst it is difficult to determine the buildings exact age, it is clear that it is hundreds of years old.

Over the years, it has undergone many changes and had many additions made that have damaged the original quality of the building and its spaces.

The central idea was to restore the structure's original, characteristics, the stone walls, the segmented ceilings and the arches including the exposure of the original materials (a combination of pottery and beach sand).

The building has been cleaned of all of the extraneous elements, from newer wall coverings and has undergone a peeling process to expose its original state.

Surprisingly, modern, minimalistic construction styles remind us of and correspond with the ascetic style of the past, and this despite the vast time difference between them.

The central idea was to combine the old and the new whilst maintaining the qualities of each and to create new spaces that blend the styles together even intensify them because of the contrast and tension between the different periods.

The historical is expressed by preserving the textures and materials of the buildings outer shell and by respecting the building engineering accord.

The modern is expressed by the opening of spaces and by altering the internal flow to one more open and free and the creation of an urban home environment along with the use of stainless steel, iron and Korean in the various partitions, in the openings and in the furniture.

The project succeeds in both honouring and preserving the historical and almost romantic values of the structure whilst creating a contemporary project, modern and suited to its period.

Despite the time differences, the tensions and the dichotomy between the periods exist in a surprisingly balanced and harmonic space.

Design: Pitsou Kedem
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Raz Melamed, Irene Goldberg
Project: 180 sqm house in the old city of Jaffa

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A black steel staircase links the six storeys of this townhouse in Tel Aviv by Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem (+ slideshow).

Pitsou Kedem designed the house for a family and added a private terrace and swimming pool on the rooftop.

"The owners wanted to create the experience of life in a private residence, but within the city," said architect Pitsou Kedem. "The authentic urban skyline reveals Tel Aviv's rooftops to those in the courtyard and thus realises the urban experience that the owners wanted to achieve."

All but one of the house's floors opens out onto a balcony or terrace.

A penthouse with sliding glass doors leads out to the roof deck and swimming pool, which are encased behind a clear glass balustrade.

The fourth floor contains a study, small living space and a spa. A combined kitchen and living room occupies the floor below and is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows.

The parents of the family have an entire floor to themselves, with an en-suite bathroom and extensive closet space, while two more bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the level below, and belong to the children.

A guest suite consisting of a bedroom, bathroom and living space can be found on the ground floor and opens out to a small enclosed terrace.

The black steel staircase ascends through the rear corner of the house, beside a grey silicate-block wall. Exposed timber floors and wooden panelling also feature throughout.

Tel Aviv Townhouse is the latest in a string of residential projects completed by Pitsou Kedem in the Israeli city, following a renovated house with vaulted ceilings and stone walls and a house with double-height glass walls that slide back across its facade.

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Here's a description from the architects:

Town House in Tel Aviv

A 270 square metre plot was used as the foundation for a Tel Aviv town house consisting of a basement and an additional 6 floors. The owners wanted to create the experience of life in a private residence but within the city.

The architect Pitsou Kedem designed an urban style courtyard on the roof and, as a result, reversed the usually, permanent, order of things. The authentic, urban skyline reveals to those in the courtyard, Tel Aviv's rooftops and thus realises the urban experience that the owners wanted to achieve.

The architectural design was based on a cross section of the structure whilst creating a physical and visual relationship between all the floors. Each floor encompasses an area of some 100 square meters with every floor being used for a different purpose. This enables the house's residents to create common meeting spaces alongside separated spaces that, together, maximise the usage off the space and maximise the privacy that day to day life in a home requires.

Thus, the design incorporates a separate floor for the parents living area which includes a large library, a floor devoted to children's rooms, a common living floor and the upper floor for the pool. Wooden paneling is used around openings on the ground floor and is also used to disguise the entrance hall and a separate living unit.

The home's internal stairwell is designed as a dramatic, vertical line. In contrast to the stairwell common in most apartment buildings which is usually designed to be hidden from view, in this design the stairwell is open and runs along a wall covered with grey silicate blocks.

Architects: Pitsou Kedem Architects
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Hagar Tzvi, Hila Sela
Location: Tel Aviv
Size: 610 square metres
Plot size: 260 sqm
Total floor area: 450 sqm
Design & build : 2009-2012
Program: Single family house

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A rooftop swimming pool runs along the edge of this renovated penthouse in Tel Aviv by Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem, allowing residents to look down over the old town rooftops while enjoying a swim. (+ slideshow).

Pitsou Kedem – whose past projects include an apartment renovation with vaulted ceilings and a house with a sliding glass facade – renovated the top floor of an apartment block in the north of Tel Aviv to create the Antokolsky Penthouse, creating an open-plan living space that makes the most of the view.

As part of the brief, the architect created a balcony that spans the length of the penthouse, then added an infinity pool that appears to line up with the city skyline.

"The pool is completely covered with dark stone so that the city can be reflected in its entirety in the water," Kedem told Dezeen.

Frangipani trees border the balcony, designed to mirror the flora often found in traditional Tel Aviv gardens, while an external dining area shaded by a slatted roof offers space for socialising.

Twenty five metre-long glazed screens with light teak frames surround the apartment on every side, offering 360 degree views.

"The internal spaces, floating within the building's shell, are fully exposed to the city, thus long and continuous lines of sight are preserved from one end of the apartment to the other," Kedem explained.

When the weather is good, a glazed door slides open to connect the terrace with the living room, which features a dark metal bookcase set against a raw concrete wall.

The dining area is furnished with metal table and low chairs. Free standing kitchen islands with granite worktops sit at the other end of the space, reflecting the terrazzo floor in a series of metallic panels.

A glazed corridor runs along one side of the penthouse, providing views of the horizon and allowing natural light to spread throughout the space. A bathroom at one end of the corridor features an exposed concrete wall and stark white design.

At the other end, the architect designed an office with a wall-mounted storage unit comprised of colourful blocks, stacked together to store and display the client's possessions. Artwork rests on the geometric unit and hangs on the opposite wall, injecting colour into the study.

"The apartment's residents have an impressive collection of art. This played a significant role in the design of the spaces, each of which relates to the specific piece displayed in it," Kedem said.

A glass passage on the other side of the living space leads to the combined master suite and bathroom, separated by a low concrete wall with a beside alcove set into it.

Bulbs with multicoloured wires hang over the bedroom, which leads onto the balcony, while ceramic tiles line the interior of an en suite bathroom with a timber-clad bathtub and wash basin.

The main bathroom features a similar design, with taps picked out in red and a pine towel rack that acts as a window frame, leaning against the glass wall of the shower.

Photography is by Amit Garon.

Here's some more text from Pitsou Kedem:

Antokolsky Penthouse, Tel Aviv, Israel

This unconventional design by Pitsou Kedem blurs the borders between private space and outdoor space. In a new building, in the old north of Tel Aviv, a unique penthouse covering an entire floor of some 600 square meters, is open and transparent in four directions.

The entire penthouse is wrapped with a screen of clear walls. The internal spaces, floating within the building's shell, are fully exposed to the city. Passages and movement, or corridors in conventional design language, to the rooms and then, on to the apartment's spaces are next to the structure's outer shell.

No rooms connect with this outer shell and no rooms block or shut off the view over the city. The levels of transparency and exposure are regulated using various methods of shading. Thus long and continuous lines of sight are preserved from one of the apartment to the other.

Along the entire frontage, some 25 meters, there are transparent, teak framed, sliding doors which allow for the opening and closing of the various internal spaces, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, to the external shell. Thus the city merges into the apartment, the climate is regulated and the residents can enjoy the sky line and changing lights at any given time.

The apartment's style corresponds with international styling whilst retaining classical influences in the spirit of the period. Such as, for example, the style of French architect Jean Prouvé whose work was unembellished, placing the emphasis on practicality.

The materials used in the apartment's construction are, for the most part, shown in their raw state. The floor is poured terrazzo and an exposed concrete wall in the living room is offset with a metal bookcase. The pool is completely covered with dark stone so that the city can be reflected in its entirety in the water.

Along the balcony we find planters with Frangipani trees that reflect and continue the characteristic flora of many Tel Aviv gardens.

The apartment's residents have an impressive collection of art. This played a significant role in the design of the spaces, each of which relates to the specific piece displayed in it.

And the responsibility for bringing a smile to the design has been given the yellow hue that has been used in the main door, the closet and additional touches of yellow scattered around the apartment.

Design: Pitsou Kedem Architects
Head architect: Ran M. Broides
Design Team: Pitsou Kedem, Ran M. Broides, Nurit Ben Yosef and Irene Goldberg
Styling for photographs: Eti Buskila

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Israeli office Pitsou Kedem demolished and rebuilt the inside of this Tel Aviv penthouse apartment to create a pared-back interior featuring raw concrete, steel and wood (+ slideshow).

The owner of Y Duplex Penthouse commissioned Pitsou Kedem to renovate the 160-square-metre apartment, with a brief to create lighter, more generous spaces, and make room for a combined study and office on the top floor.

"It was a small yet complex project," said the architects, whose other projects include a penthouse with an infinity pool and a six-storey townhouse with a black steel staircase. "How would it be possible to install meaning and architectural values to a rooftop apartment in a standard, uninspired multi-storey building?"

The architects have reconfigured the apartment to create an open-plan kitchen, dining room and living area on the bottom floor, and added large sliding doors that open on to a 40-square-metre balcony.

"The border between the interior spaces and the balcony is almost totally blurred by a thin glass panel system," they said. "The use of the same poured terrazzo flooring inside and outside also contributes to this feeling of continuity."

New thin steel columns and large ceiling beams have been added to the open-plan space to support the floor above, and a textured concrete wall has been left exposed at the back.

Unpainted oak has been used for the kitchen island and media unit to balance the industrial materials with a softer look. Oak veneer has also been used for the kitchen cabinets, and black granite has been used for the kitchen worktop.

The restrained material palette was also chosen to provide a simple backdrop for the owner's art collection, which includes bold, colourful paintings by Israeli artist Guy Yanai.

"The raw materials and the attempt to create an architecture that was both unfashionable and timeless is complemented by the books and pieces of art hung throughout the apartment," said the architects.

The upper level has a master bedroom, bathroom and shower at one end, and an office, study and second shower room at the other end.

A new folded steel staircase provides access to the top floor, and rooflights have been installed above it to bring in more light to both levels of the apartment.

A void between the upper and lower level has also been added next to the upper stair landing, in order to increase light between the two floors.

Two screens featuring moveable timber slats have been added at either end of the stairwell on the top floor, to conceal or reveal views between the shower room and the study.

"The space created by the new stairwell creates a dramatic architectural cross-section through the apartment, linking the different levels and allowing natural light to penetrate the building," said the architects.

The bathroom has been designed as a calming space in the apartment, combining white paint, pale grey stone, and thin-frame sliding doors that open on to a small, secluded terrace.

"Despite the fact that the apartment has a small area, it feels large and spacious," said the architects. "The wide, open views out to the scenery and in between the neighbouring buildings create the feeling of a light and airy space."

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Project credits:
Area: 160 square metres
Design Team: Pitsou Kedem, Ran M. Broides
Photography: Amit Geron
Styling for photographs: Eti Buskila

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White metal panels imprinted with a geometric pattern line the walls of this penthouse apartment in Tel Aviv by Israeli studio Pitsou Kedem Architects (+ slideshow).

Pitsou Kedem Architects remodelled the interior of a top-floor apartment, named Layers of White because of its limited colour palette.

The wall-to-wall white decoration of the interior space was designed to create "a monastic and silent environment" for a client who asked for a minimalist apartment with wide open spaces for his family.

The Tel Aviv-based office applied the textured wall covering throughout the property to visually connect an open-plan living space and bedroom situated at either end of a narrow corridor.

A boxed-in island off the corridor containing a seating area and bathroom is also clad in the same material.

"The idea was to wrap the inner core walls of the building with one unique wall," Pitsou Kedem told Dezeen.

"We chose a special geometric pattern that repeats in the design and fits the clear sharp lines of the apartment."

The three-dimensional cladding made from large sheets of white painted aluminium is applied to portions of the walls throughout the apartment, which also has neutral ceilings, walls and fixtures to build up a space with "layers of pure, soft white".

"The apartment's spaces were designed to create a meditative atmosphere with monochromatic sheets all based on the colour white," added Kedem, who previously added an infinity pool to a rooftop apartment in Tel Aviv.

"Through a play on light and shadow and textures, multiple layers of white, almost 'colourful' in their richness are created, displaying many varied and deep hues of white," he said.

In the living space and bedrooms, the team inserted sections of ceiling-to-floor glass to give panoramic views over the city.

"The white flat is like a white canvas to the colours of the city," said Kedem.

A central white island separates the kitchen area from a sitting room with dark grey furnishings.

Utilities are set into the island counter and into a white storage wall to the rear of the kitchen.

Overhead lighting in the living area is shaded by sculptural folded pieces of metal that coordinate with the wall coverings, while slim strips of lighting over the hallway and the staircase highlight the dimensions of the space.

"Long, thin strips of light emphasise the linear axis along the length of the corridor and ceiling fixtures that appear as works of origami to complement the triangular, three dimensional walls," said the architect.

At the other end of the corridor there is a television room with pigeon-hole storage, a family bathroom with contrasting dark grey textured walls and three bedrooms.

The master bedroom has two glass walls with thin white curtains that can be pulled across to expose or block views of the city.

A white glass door slides open from the bedroom into an en-suite bathroom with large mirror, black counter and white sinks.

Three outdoor terraces positioned off the hallway and living area are floored in the same grey as the interior, giving a sense of continuity between the spaces.

On one balcony, the same geometric clusters used on the interior walls reappear as a motif in a "green" wall, where a triangular framework forms vertical planting beds.

"We believe that it makes it more 'alive' by using these vertical planting walls, which are like a work of art," said Kedem.

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Project credits:

Architect: Pitsou Kedem Architects
Design Team: Pitsou Kedem, Irene Goldberg, Hila Weiss and Mano Amsalem
Styling for photographs: Eti Buskila

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A Tel Aviv flat that was once the home of Israel's first prime minster has been renovated and extended by local firm Pitsou Kedem Architects to create a new basement level with industrial-style fittings (+ slideshow).

A framework of chunky black I-beams supports the ceiling of a new basement floor, added by Pitsou Kedem Architects to the flat formerly owned by the late David Ben-Gurion, who was instrumental in the founding of the Israeli state and was prime minister between 1955 and 1963.

"The ground floor apartment we designed was previously the home of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, which lends historic significance and magic to the building and the apartment," said the architects.

The project, called Past Turned Into Space, involved reorganising the interior of the ground floor apartment, which is located within a two-storey block designed by Ukrainian architect Yosef Berlin in 1925.

The protected building features renaissance-style arches with segmental keystones, balconies and pale pink plasterwork, and is located within a UNESCO heritage site in Tel Aviv.

This meant the architects had to contend with severe building restrictions to add the subterranean level that would enable them to expand the residence into a 220-square-metre duplex apartment.

"Excavating in a preservation building is complicated," said the architects. "We had to change a central concrete pillar that supports vertically the whole building."

The new level is supported by timber-imprinted concrete and a six-metre-tall I-beam that spans the height of the two floors.

A palette of exposed concrete, glass and steel were continued throughout the interior, lending an industrial appearance to the interior spaces that contrasts with the building's ornamental facade.

"We chose to use concrete and steel because we treat them as timeless materials," said the architects. "This combination with a preservation building felt right."

"Since the construction elements we created were totally new, we took care not to hide them but left them exposed in order to tell the story of the renovation."

On the lower floor, glass panels pivot to reveal a study and bedroom adjacent to the double-height stairwell. Curtains can also be drawn across the glazing to give privacy from the stairwell.

Red door handles, patterned rugs and white fittings offer accents of colour to the grey-toned spaces, while furnishings, including moulded wooden chairs, aim to reflect the architectural period of the building.

"All the furniture was carefully chosen to complement the common culture that connects between two periods in time," said the team.

A steel staircase adjoins a metal-panelled wall at one side and breaks at a mid point to form a gap between the treads.

This upper section of staircase is enclosed by metal balustrades infilled with red mesh. A white light fitting with articulated arms and shades hangs over the fenced-in well.

Upstairs, a long light tube slices across the the timber-imprinted concrete ceiling – a feature also employed by the team in their renovation of a penthouse apartment in the city.

A length of dark metal extends from underneath one end of the polished stainless steel kitchen unit, before rejoining the floor to form an informal dining area.

By a soft seating area, an arched doorway leads to a street-facing terrace with a black and white chequered floor.

Photography is by Amit Goren, with styling by Eti Buskila.

Project credits:

Design team: Irene Goldberg, Tamar Berger, Pitsou Kedem
Architect in charge: Tamar Berger

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Two intersecting volumes create this house of two parts by Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem – one side is dedicated to family life while the other is an entertainment area featuring a six-metre-tall wine cooler (+ slideshow).

Located in Savyon, a neighbourhood near Tel Aviv, House of Parties was designed by Pitsou Kedem as a T-shaped building with a swimming pool located in its crook.

The brief was to combine a family home for a couple with three young children with a space for entertaining guests.

"When we want to go to a party, we usually have to leave the house," said the architect. "This couple wanted to combine two functions into the same space."

The two-storey family home is housed within a white-rendered block that borders one side of the pool, while the double-height party space stretches out to one side. It features glass walls flanked by a white lattice framework.

Spanning one wall of the space is a vast glass-fronted wine cooler. A bright yellow ladder leans against the fridge, providing access to bottles on the upper shelves, and adding an accent of colour.

The wine wall sits to the rear of a glossy black bar, featuring a wedge-shaped front that gives guests knee-room when seated at the counter. "The bar is built using unique angles that allow guests to sit together informally," said the team.

Glass walls can be pulled back from either side of the social area, connecting with a tree-lined courtyard at the rear of the house and a pool-side patio for outdoor eating.

"The central space was constructed as a unit that allows for the total nullification of the walls between the space and the outside," said Kedem.

The glass hood of the structure is covered in criss-crossing latticework. A pergola made up of thicker lines angles out to cover the outdoor dining area, designed to create "shadow projections that correspond with the play of shadows within the house".

From the centre of a wooden wall at the opposite side of the space, a wide door pivots into the separate living room and kitchen for the family. Bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the storey above.

Photographer Amit Geron sought to capture both the everyday nature of the house and its appearance during parties. A straggler from an ill-fated party is even pictured floating face-down in the pool in one shot.

Project credits:

Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Nurit Ben Yosef
In charge architect: Nurit Ben Yosef
Lighting design: Orly Avron Alkabes
Styling for photos: Eti Buskila

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Weathered steel screens cast chequerboard patterns of sunlight and shadow across the internal surfaces of this house near Tel Aviv by Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem (+ slideshow).

The property was designed by Pitsou Kedem Architects for a plot located in the district of Savyon, 20 kilometres east of central Tel Aviv.

The main volume of the building is a concrete shell that extends around a courtyard, but also frames the large glazed surfaces or openings containing the gridded metal screens.

These see-through surfaces perform several purposes – controlling the amount of daylight that enters the building, limiting views from outside and helping to demarcate boundaries between various internal and external spaces.

"The weathered steel layer is seen as being two dimensional from afar but does, in effect, have volume and can be experienced almost as a piece of sculpture or work of art, and not just in terms of its function as part of the building's structure," stated the studio.

A courtyard marks the entrance to the house and is sheltered on two sides by tall concrete walls. At first floor level, the concrete frames the metal screen, which extends along the front of the building and wraps around the corner to shield a bedroom.

Another courtyard at the other end of the house creates a transitional area between the living area and the pool. This also becomes carpeted in a pattern of dappled sunlight as it filters through the screens that flank it on two sides.

The project's title, In Praise of Shadows, references the importance the designers placed on the relationship between the house and the sun. The sun's orientation helped to determine several key factors, including the position of walls and the internal programme.

The choice of simple raw materials, including exposed concrete, was intended to enhance the "inanimate" and "monastic" properties of these surfaces.

"The shade and shadows moving across the building's surfaces create a dynamic drama that makes the entire mass seem to be alive and full of movement," the studio added.

The changing angle and brightness of the sun affects the tone of the concrete, weathered steel and wood used throughout external and internal spaces.

A partition comprising staggered open shelves and solid storage units separates the dining area from a glass-walled study on the ground floor, evoking the metal panels employed around the exterior.

A similar shelving system lines one side of a mezzanine above the main living area and allows light to filter through both from this side and the side facing the front terrace.

Glass walls enhance the open-air feel of the ground floor, where residents can look out onto the pool from the living room and kitchen.

Glazing also surrounds small courtyard gardens. One is positioned next to the main stairwell, containing a tree that reaches up from the basement level.

In first floor spaces such as the master bedroom, the pattern of light and shadow cast by the perforated metal screen outside the glass wall evokes the effect of dappled light filtering through the nearby trees.

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Project credits:

Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Irene Goldberg, Hila Sella
Styling for photography: Eti Buskila and Irene Goldberg

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Concrete forms influenced by 1950s architecture were combined with contemporary details for this house that architect Pitsou Kedem designed for himself and his family in Ramat HaSharon, near Tel Aviv (+ slideshow).

Pitsou Kedem's home is located in a neighbourhood developed in the 1950s to accommodate army veterans. The low profiles and Modernist styling of the buildings that remain from this era informed the forms and materials employed by the architect.

"I designed the house with the horizontal lines and clear tight grid that characterises the humble, timeless style of this period," Kedem told Dezeen.

"I also chose to use the same materials, aiming not for a fashionable home, but one I hope will be relevant for many years."

The building comprises two square floors stacked on top of one another, with the lower level partially submerged in the sloping site.

Exposed concrete walls form the main structural elements and create a sense of solidity. This is mediated by a roof that appears from certain angles to float, due to the band of glazing between it and the tops of the walls.

"I wanted to make my family's home cosy yet architectural," Kedem claimed. "My decision was to create not high spaces but rooms with a human scale."

The concrete roof is supported by internal walls flanking the staircase at the centre of the house, as well as by columns along the glazed facade that fronts the garden. It also cantilevers out slightly to shelter a terrace.

For the double-height elevation on one side, the solid concrete gives way to glazing that extends along both storeys.

Timber louvres shield the glazing and regulate how much sunlight reaches the interior, as well as ensuring privacy when required.

The louvres are electronically controlled and divided into groups so they can be adjusted in accordance with the needs of the different internal spaces, which results in patterns of light and shadow across the length of the facade.

Circular openings in the concrete walls frame views of the neighbourhood and surrounding eucalyptus trees, while similar openings in the internal surfaces create visual connections between the various rooms.

An entrance at the centre of the house on the upper level leads into an open kitchen, living and dining area with a frameless window at the far end.

The central staircase divides the living areas on one side of the plan from the master bedroom suite and study on the other.

The staircase was constructed from textured metal and is enclosed by walls of exposed silicate bricks. Natural light filtering through timber slats is distributed to the adjoining areas through round holes in the walls.

Throughout the building, the architect selected materials that would age well over time. ""The use of raw materials in their original state – exposed concrete, wood and unpainted iron – conveyed and magnified both the material and sensational experience of home," said Kedem.

"Designing my own home was an important experience for me as an architect," he added. "Beyond the pleasure of building a house for my family, I learned a lot about the client's experience. It was also an important opportunity to discuss the practical aspects of architecture and not only the design."

Photography is by Amit Geron, with styling by Eti Buskila.

Project credits:

Architect: Pitsou Kedem Architects
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Noa Groman, Tamar Berger

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Israeli architects Pitsou Kedem and Irene Goldberg have created a series of nature-influenced products for the home, including a shelving system that references a rock formation and a sink based on an iceberg.

Kedem and Goldberg designed the shelves, sink and mirror as the first three objects from a collection that will eventually also include tables, chairs and other items for the home.

"As architects we design spaces for people – spaces that promote a sense of place, calling their visitors to linger," said Kedem, whose architecture projects in his native country include a concrete 1950s-inspired home built for his family. "We created Object to complete this experience."

The architect installed the Object items in another of his buildings: a house near Tel Aviv shaded by perforated weathered steel screens.

The range includes the modular Library shelving system, which comprises a blackened steel grid and oak boxes, providing closed-off and open storage.

The freestanding piece has no back – enabling it to be accessed from both sides and used as a room divider.

Its design is based on rock formations with holes in them, which are solid but also traversable. "We drew our inspiration for the collection from nature – natural phenomena and organic objects," Kedem told Dezeen.

"For the sink we drew upon the fascinating formations of icebergs – their mass, their colour and their material," he said of the combined sink and shelf they have named Iceberg.

Made from one solid slice of Italian white stone attached to the wall, a glass front contains the water.

"Like a floating iceberg, its white surfaces and elegant lines transform from plains to a mass as we move around it, changing our point of perception," he added.

The Last Leaf is a double-sided circular mirror suspended from a painted iron pole, representing a droplet of water on the furthest leaf on a branch.

The mirror revolves around its pole as well as its own axis, presenting a different reflection scale on each side. Its movement reveals the red colour of the inner frame.

"The design of our objects is a playful dance between masses and plains, a constant motion between volume and void," Kedem explained. "We realised we needed to create everyday objects that enrich the daily rituals of our lives. We believe that adding a smile to well-formed architecture every now and then is a necessary gesture."

Architects have long dabbled in product design, using it to experiment with their signature styles at a smaller scale.

Examples include Norm Architects, which collaborated with Note Design Studio on the Patchwork Marble Table for Menu; and Zaha Hadid, who has recently added a range of stools and a bowl designed to resemble ice formations to her collection of furniture for London's David Gill Gallery.

Photography is by Amit Geron.

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Israeli studio Pitsou Kedem Architects knocked four apartments into one to create this two-storey penthouse in Tel Aviv, which features a rooftop pool offering views out over the city (+ slideshow).

Named Square Compositions Penthouse, the 400-square-metre apartment was designed by Pitsou Kedem Architects as a family home. It occupies the top two levels of a residential tower in the city's new luxury high-rise district, Park Tzameret.

The lower level has the primary living spaces, with a kitchen, dining area and double-height living room arranged in an L-shape. These open onto a balcony around the perimeter of the building.

The upper level has a second balcony, which is enclosed by frameless glass balustrades and features a pool that sits level with the deck, offering uninterrupted views of the city while swimming.

In the living area, a composition of raised and recessed squares, from which the apartment derives its name, climbs up the walls and onto the ceiling. The studio describes it as "a patchwork of clearly defined lines, like a plant creeping up a clear trellis".

The detail also continues throughout the other rooms in the apartment, and was designed so that the owners would not need to add decoration to the walls.

"The panels are like a piece of sculpture," said the architects. "This nullifies the need for any additional design elements, other than those that light and accompany the space."

The textured surface, which the team likens to a topography spreading across the apartment, was also added to create a subtle, changing pattern of light and shade across the walls and ceiling throughout the day.

"The topographical white is enhanced by the large, orthogonal glass walls that cast myriad light, so they differ in their shade and brightness," said the architects.

In the kitchen, the squares and rectangles have been fashioned into lights that protrude down from the ceiling.

A folded metal staircase at the end of the living space leads up to a mezzanine study, which overlooks the dining area and the city beyond. It is enclosed by a glass balustrade to create an unimpeded flow of light and views.

"Movement and views in the space are emphasised by the work areas and sitting areas, which are placed by the stairways like terraces that both observe, and are also observed," said the architects.

Behind the mezzanine study, a more enclosed staircase, also made from folded metal, leads up to the apartment's penthouse level. A chandelier comprising multiple rods of light creates a feature in the centre of the stairwell.

The penthouse level contains bedrooms, bathrooms, and has its own living area and kitchen, so it can be used as a self-contained apartment if needed.

"The penthouse floor is designed as an upper living area with a large salon overlooking the balcony and a swimming pool, as well as a kitchen and bathrooms," said the architects. "The effect is of two different and separate living levels that make possible a range of social activities and interactions at the same time."

The upper-level living room has large sliding glass doors on two sides that open up to the surrounding balcony, and flooring that is level with the paving outside in order to make the two spaces feel more like one.

Related content: see more architecture and interiors by Pitsou Kedem

Interior-style sofas, chairs and tables have been placed on the balcony to make it feel more like an outdoor living room.

Dark flooring and furniture were used throughout the apartment to offer a contrast to the white walls.

"The careful selection of materials and hues is evident in the apartment's floors and furniture," said the architects. "Monochromatic, reserved and deep – they create surprise as you enter the light, bright space."

Square Compositions Penthouse is the latest in a series of apartments that Pitsou Kedem Architects has designed in Tel Aviv. Others include a penthouse with an infinity pool and an apartment lined with textured geometric wall panels.

Photography is by Amit Geron, with styling by Eti Buskila.

Project credits:

Architect: Pitsou Kedem Architects
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Hila Sela
Architect in charge: Hila Sela

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Concrete slabs, translucent glass planks and frameless window walls offer varying degrees of privacy for this house in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan by Pitsou Kedem (+ slideshow).

Kedem's Tel Aviv-based studio – which also recently completed a monochrome penthouse apartment – sought to create seclusion at the street-facing front of the house, but to give a more open feel to the spaces facing a private garden at the rear.

A high wall separates the house, named Concrete Cut, from the street. Behind it, three distinct layers of material present a solid and impervious elevation towards the rest of the neighbourhood.

The bottom and top layers are made from translucent glass planks – the same material used by British architect Carl Turner for his Manser Medal-winning home.

They allow daylight to filter inside, and their tone and uniformity complement the robust surface of the concrete sandwiched in between.

"Viewed from the front, [the house] looks like a monolithic operation of materials with a deep, monochromatic range of colours," said the studio. "Three rectangular prisms, laid upon one another into a peaceful composition, stable and subdued, appearing as heavy masses."

"A second, discerning glance reveals a dramatic encounter of materials taken from two separate worlds –­ poured, massive concrete and glass panels, creating a semitransparent wall with a decisive line running through it."

The lower portion of the glazed wall shields an entrance tucked behind one corner. Bamboo stems that stretch upwards from the basement level are backlit by light coming through the translucent surface.

A large pivoting doorway opens directly onto the open-plan kitchen and dining area, with the rest of the space along the front elevation accommodating services including a bathroom, laundry, wardrobe and a lift.

At the far end of this space is a double-height lounge that looks onto the terrace and swimming pool through floor-to-ceiling windows.

Large steel pillars in the corners of the room provide evidence of the building's supporting framework, while the concrete cladding extends in a sinuous line from the roof, down one side of the windows and across the facade before descending to the ground.

"While the front facade is an abstract creation conceptually assuring the blending of identity and function, the rear facade graphically expresses three­-dimensionality, the probing of depth and the feeling of brightness and freedom," the architects said.

The large windows at ground floor level incorporate sliding doors that open onto the poolside terrace and extend along the west elevation to fill the lounge and dining space with natural light.

On the east elevation, a concrete wall provides a surface on which to hang the television.

A window above extends diagonally along the line of a staircase that features open treads to maintain the openness of this circulation area.

The stairs ascend to a first floor containing bedrooms, a study and a bathroom behind a mezzanine library that overlooks the lounge.

Another staircase leads down to a basement level providing a private area for the children and a personal gym. A glazed wall lining the east side of this submerged storey opens onto a narrow yard.

The children's bedrooms are located on the first floor, while the master bedroom suite is accommodated in a translucent glass box at the top of the building.

Full-height windows flanking the bedroom at the rear look out onto a roof terrace lined with a glass balustrade that extends along two sides of the building.

Architect Pitsou Kedem's own house also combines concrete and glass to evoke the aesthetics of Modernist architecture, while another house designed by the studio near Tel Aviv features a perforated steel screen that casts a chequerboard shadow on its concrete walls.

Photography is by Amit Geron. Styling is by Eti Buskila.

Project credits:

Architect: Pitsou Kedem Architects
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Noa Groman
Architect in charge: Noa Groman
Lighting design: Orly Avron Alkabes

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Israeli studio Pitsou Kedem has completed a family residence in Tel Aviv, using a cantilevered concrete box and glass walls to create a building that "corresponds with the Modernism of the 1950s" (+ slideshow).

Like the house Pitsou Kedem designed for himself and his family in Ramat HaSharon, SB House takes its cues from the forms and materials typically used in Modern architecture.

The 510-square-metre residence, which the studio designed for a family in Tel Aviv, features board-marked concrete walls and large expanses of glass, allowing natural light to flood the interior.

A concrete box containing upper floor bedrooms and bathrooms cantilevers over the ground level living room, which is wrapped on three sides by glass – similar in form to a Melbourne residence by Matt Gibson that references Brazilian Modernism.

"Technological advances of the industrial revolution, which allowed the use of iron and concrete building blocks, brought with them the gospel of Modernism," said Kedem.

"The use of a cement sheath around the house produces a fascinating balance between open and closed systems and fills the house with various intensities of light," he continued, "these streams pour into the concrete structure and emphasise its sensuality."

A row of wooden louvres fitted to the street-facing facade reinforces the linear markings left by the wooden formwork on the concrete walls and help to further ventilate and illuminate the inside of the building.

An adjacent full-height wall sits away from the elevated concrete box above the sitting room, creating a narrow gap between the two parts of the structure.

Steel beams and a strip of glass that run up the two end walls of the building and across the roof span the gap, helping to light the entrance hall below. A pivoting door that provides the primary entrance to the house is concealed within a white wall.

"The experience of standing up against the sealed entrance is like the architecture of Egypt's temples and fortress buildings," said Kedem.

Wooden floorboards, chosen to reference the board-marked concrete walls and ceiling, are used throughout the living space and on an elevated walkway that runs overhead.

While the master suite is located in the upper storey, children's rooms are located in a basement lit by a sunken courtyard.

Related content: see more projects by Pitsou Kedem

While concrete opacifies the upper floor, glazed walls slide open to connect the open-plan living space with the garden containing a swimming pool.

Directed by architect Pitsou Kedem, the Tel Aviv studio is renowned for its use of concrete, metal and frameless glazing to create dramatic plays of light and shadow. Earlier this year it completed a house titled In Praise of Shadows, which features a chequerboard screen of weather steel that casts patterns of sunlight and show across the internal surfaces.

SB House is located nearby several Tel Aviv projects by the firm including a penthouse apartment with an infinity pool overlooking the city, and the renovated home of Israel's former prime minster, David Ben-Gurion.

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Project credits:

Architecture: Pitsou Kedem
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Tamar Berger, Irene Goldberg, Hagar Arad Tsvi
Styling for photography: Eti Buskila

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Horizontal slits create lines of shadow across the facades of this beachfront house in Israel by Pitsou Kedem Architects, which has a cantilevered upper storey that projects towards the Mediterranean Sea (+slideshow).

The property was designed by Pitsou Kedem's Tel-Aviv studio for a couple and their three children, and is located in the northern Israeli village of Shavei Tzion, close to the owners' factory in a nearby industrial area.

The house's plot is situated just 70 metres from the sea and looks directly onto an area of scrubland leading to the beach. The design aims to accentuate this connection with the sights and sounds of the sea.

"The client asked for the house to be open to the sea and have a minimalist design," Kedem told Dezeen. "We tried to create a minimal architecture and not produce visual noise."

Another key influence on the house's simple geometric forms and neutral material palette came from the architectural principles of the International Style, which was adopted by many Israeli architects in the 1930s and 1940s.

Kedem has previously applied a similar aesthetic to projects including a house in Tel-Aviv featuring a concrete box cantilevered over a glass-walled ground floor, and a home for his own family with concrete walls and a roof that seems to hover above them.

The side of the house facing the access road and the entrance courtyard features predominantly solid surfaces, with narrow horizontal openings allowing daylight to enter a porch area housing a small tree.

A white box jutting out from the first floor contains bathrooms for the bedrooms on this level. Another small bedroom is also afforded light and privacy by the horizontal white cladding.

The striped surface is formed from aluminium panels that extend along the sides of the upper storey's cantilevered section, drawing the eye towards the open vista to the west.

The cladding also offers a protective insulating layer to prevent the interior from overheating in the desert climate.

A more pronounced cantilever is located at the rear of the building, allowing the master bedroom suite to project out over above the garden.

"The main bedroom on the second floor is suspended in the air without pillars below, which emphasises the aspiration of the entire structure to flow like waves of the sea," Kedem added.

"The hovering section generates a sense of lightness and floating, like white foam floating on the edge of each wave."

Next to and below the cantilevered volume, large windows flood the double-height living area on the ground floor with natural light and frame views towards the horizon.

Windows set into the surfaces of the master bedroom and the other bedrooms lining the south-facing first floor are framed by thin protruding lintels that provide shade from the sun without disrupting the views.

The horizontal slits incorporated into the cladding recur in the balustrades of the first-floor gallery, creating a direct connection between the interior and the west-facing cantilever.

Photography is by Amit Geron, with styling by Eti Buskila.

Project credits:

Design team: Irene Goldberg, Tamar Berger, Pitsou Kedem
Lead architect: Tamar Berger
Lighting design: Orly Avron Alkabes

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A pair of concrete and glass volumes are stacked at right angles to form a cantilever sheltering a pool terrace at this family home in Tel Aviv, designed by Axelrod Architects and Pitsou Kedem.

Dual House is located in a neighbourhood just north of central Tel Aviv and was designed by Israeli studios Axelrod Architects and Pitsou Kedem Architects.

The architects also designed an adjoining house that mirrors its cantilevering formation. The properties are occupied by the families of two close friends.

Both owners work in the construction technology industry and were looking for homes that showcase bold, contemporary architecture.

The two properties share common design elements, including their two-storey perpendicular layout and minimalist material palette.

"The goal was to design two different single family houses, each with its own unique plan, and still maintain a unified and coherent architectural element," explained the architects.

The main reference for the design of the buildings is the style of early 20th-century modernism, which is prevalent in this part of Israel.

Modernism has informed many of Pitsou Kedem's previous projects, including a house with a bridge that extends over a moat-like garden and a property with a concrete-clad upper storey perched on top of a glazed living space.

In Dual House, modernist principles are expressed through clean forms, lack of extraneous decoration and a straightforward palette of industrial materials used in their original state.

The building's form comprises two concrete volumes stacked one on top of the other and rotated at 90 degrees. The upper volume extends outwards to create a cantilevered section that shelters a dining area on the patio below.

"The meeting point of these two masses is a vertical axis that cuts the horizontal position with the use of a staircase that goes through all levels of the house," said the architects. "These opposites across the horizontal and vertical lines create the architectural conflict and strain."

Despite the mass of concrete used in the structure, the balancing of the forms, extensive glazing and a lack of partitions help to reduce the visual bulk of the building.

The lower of the two concrete boxes contains an open-plan living space, which is lined on two sides with glazing that connects it to a poolside terrace.

A master bedroom on the upper floor is separated from an en-suite bathroom and dressing area by a central partition. Full-height windows that fill one side of the concrete box ensure views out from each space.

The staircase is positioned along the building's exposed concrete side wall, and features open treads and balustrades formed of tension cables that lend it an open feel.

The building's exterior has a similarly precise and minimal aesthetic to that found throughout the interior spaces, with the pool and lawns fitting neatly into a grid of stone paving.

Photography is by Amit Geron, with styling by Eti Buskila.

Project credits:

Architects: Axelrod Architects, Pitsou Kedem Architects
Contractor: Asaf Lupo
Lighting design: Orly Avron Alkabes

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A patterned wall of black metal wraps the upper level of this two-storey apartment in Tel Aviv, designed by Pitsou Kedem Architects.

The Tel Aviv-based practice added the wall feature to the P Duplex apartment, which it designed for an elderly couple with a large collection of furniture and fine art.

The aim was to make the most of the 23rd-floor flat's two levels, as well as its views across the city and towards the Mediterranean Sea.

The architects' main intervention was to cut down the second-floor area to create a double-height space for the living and dining room, which now boast six-metre-high ceilings.

The 13-metre-long wall of latticework made of blackened brass provides a guardrail for the adjoining hallway on the upper level.

"A long, tall grate lattice, reaching from floor to ceiling, divides the second-level hall and the abyss that opens before it – the double height space of the first-storey living room," said the architects.

"It functions both as an airy railing, protecting those walking on the second-level hall, while providing a view of the scenery, and, with its top band, providing a frame for the living room space."

The black grate – which is made up of rectangular modules each featuring different triangular patterns – also forms a balustrade for the upper part of the staircase, attaching to the ends of dark treads that cantilever from the wall.

For the lower half of the steps, the treads span the full width of the stairwell.

A six-metre-high blackened brass wall partitions the living and dining room from the master bedroom, complete with en suite and dressing room, on the entrance level.

"One of the special materials we used was darkened brass, which we used to create the stairs' unique balustrade with its recurring pattern and the staircase itself," said the architects.

"This material was also used to create the project's central, six-metre-high wall that unites the two floors and emphasises the space's vertical dimensions," they continued.

On the upper level, the wall partially covers the latticework to provide privacy for the family room, which features a metal bookstand that mimics the style of the grate.

The ceilings and walls are painted white throughout the apartment, providing a backdrop for the couple's artwork and furniture, while translucent white curtains cover the large expanses of glazing.

The architects chose to use dark basalt stone for flooring on the lower level, where the kitchen is tucked beside the stairwell.

Upstairs, wooden floorboards cover the hallway, which features a small study with a large window and bedroom at one end. The other side houses the family room as well as two more bedrooms and bathrooms.

Each of the bathrooms are finished differently. One washroom is white with wooden cabinets and a circular mirror, while another features dark stone walls and cupboards with copper-like doors.

Pitsou Kedem came 39th in our Hot List ranking of architects this year. Other residential projects by the studio include a 1950s-inspired property in Tel Aviv and a family house in Ramat Gan.

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Project credits:

Design team: Irene Goldberg, Pitsou Kedem
Lead architect: Irene Goldberg
Lighting design: Orly Avron Alkabes
Styling for photography: Eti Buskila

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Pitsou Kedem Architects has completed a family home in the Savyon district of Israel, featuring living areas flanked by glazed walls facing onto private courtyards.

The F House was designed by architect Pitsou Kedem's studio for a plot in the upmarket neighbourhood, which is around 20 kilometres east of central Tel-Aviv.

Set within private grounds, the house appears on approach as a monolithic stone-clad volume adjoining a more permeable slatted-timber structure.

A paved path lined with trees extends from the driveway towards the semi-opaque wooden wall, where a doorway opens into a secluded courtyard incorporating a lawn with a tree at its centre.

"Walking along the path, as indeed the entry into the enclosed grounds, is part of the process of separating from the outside world and contemplating the present moment more deeply," said the architects.

From this point, the house opens up and becomes a series of largely transparent volumes offering long views through the living areas towards further courtyards and gardens beyond.

The entrance courtyard is lined with glass curtain walls that present a view into a lounge and lobby, from which a top-lit staircase with floating white treads and a minimal balustrade made from tensile cables ascends to the upper floor.

The lounge is incorporated into an open-plan space that also accommodates the dining area and kitchen.

Designer Arik Levy's Wireflow chandeliers for Vibia – which look like line drawings – are suspended from the double-height ceiling to accentuate the height of the room.

Next to the kitchen is another courtyard containing a tree emerging from a gravel bed. A fully glazed corner creates a seamless view of this external area from the living space.

Clerestory windows flood the interior with daylight and frame a view of another lounge space situated on the upper floor of the adjacent block containing the bedrooms.

On the opposite side of the main living area, more expansive glazing looks out onto the garden and swimming pool. The stone wall flanking the interior space extends out into the garden, where it is divided into slabs.

A glass balustrade wraps around the pool to provide a protective yet transparent border. A gym pavilion also features glazed surfaces to create an interrupted connection with the rest of the house.

Savyon is also the location of several other buildings designed by the firm, including a house comprising two intersecting volumes intended for family use and partying, and a property featuring patterned screens that cast chequerboard patterns of sunlight and shadow.

The property's pared-back aesthetic is typical of many houses designed by Kedem, including a Modernist-inspired residence with a cantilevered upper storey and another home reached by a bridge that traverses a verdant garden.

Photography by Amit Geron.

Project credits:

Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Hila Sela
Lead architect: Hila Sela
Lighting design: Orly Avron Alkabes
Styling for photography: Eti Buskila

The post Walls of glass, stone and wood line courtyards at Pitsou Kedem's House F appeared first on Dezeen.

Screens with a perforated geometric pattern help to control the flow of light, air and views throughout this house in a suburb of Tel Aviv by Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem.

AB House covers 770 square metres of a 1,800-square-metre plot in the Kfar Shmaryahu neighbourhood to the north of the Israeli city.

The house comprises two interconnected volumes; a long exposed concrete box that extends into a reflecting pool, and a taller perpendicular rendered structure.

The building's simple forms and finishes are typical of Kedem's numerous projects in the Tel Aviv region, which include a property featuring bands of shutters with a similar geometric pattern and a home surrounded by screens that reference traditional latticework.

For AB House, the studio applied painted metal screens – that it describes as evocative of netting – to various external and internal surfaces.

"The netting meanders across the house almost as if it were marking out a series of contours," said the architects. "At times, it is ethereal allowing light and air to access the spaces."

"Sometimes it is closed, acting as an entrance whilst at other times it is inlaid with a system of pivoting doors that allow one of the facades to appear dynamic and ever changing," they added.

At the entrance, the screens provide a partial view of the house stretching away towards the rear of the plot, and continue across a rendered wall containing the front door.

The pivoting sections are integrated into a surface separating the master bedroom from a poolside terrace. Rotating the screens enhances the connection between these interior and exterior spaces.

Inside the home, the perforated pattern is repeated in elements including a black-painted balustrade that separates the kitchen from a staircase with cantilevered treads.

The partly opaque surfaces cast patterns of light and shadow on internal walls and floors that alter throughout the day.

The play of light is reversed at night, when the house's interior illumination is filtered through the apertures in the screens.

A concrete wall that extends along the southern side of the building reaches down but never touches the ground as it flanks the pool and living space.

"Floating above the reflecting pool, the wall emphasises the lengthy water element of the project that starts with the reflecting pool and ends with a swimming pool," said the studio.

The illusion of floating lightens the visual mass of the 11-metre concrete roof, which also rests lightly on the glass walls enclosing the lounge.

This space connects with the pool terrace on one side, and on the other overlooks the reflecting pool and a sunken courtyard garden.

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Project credits:

Initial design: Irene Goldberg, Pitsou Kedem
Lead architect: Raz Melamed
Lighting design: Orly Avron Alkabes
Styling for photography: Eti Buskila

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Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem has updated an apartment in the ancient port of Jaffa, Tel Aviv, adding arched windows and door frames that echo the form of the traditional vaulted ceilings.

The building is located in the oldest part of the Israeli city and Pitsou Kedem's studio was tasked with refurbishing its interior to create spaces suited to modern life, but that retain the character of the original architecture.

The apartment's rooms were added to and adjusted over hundreds of years, resulting in a series of dark and cluttered spaces with varying floor heights.

"Refurbishing presented an opportunity to unite the rooms into one whole and, in particular, to illuminate and brighten the dim space by opening it up toward the sea," explained the architects.

The process began with the removal of decorations added to the arching ceilings, which were then covered with smooth white plaster. In the kitchen, layers of plaster were removed to once again expose a traditional domed ceiling.

Floor heights throughout the property were adjusted to create a more even surface that is unified through the application of a concrete made with a course and distinctive aggregate.

Arched openings linking the various spaces are left open to maintain views between the rooms and towards the nearby Mediterranean Sea.

The insides of the arches are covered in sheets of blackened tin that provide a contrast to the white walls and a robust surface for these high-traffic areas.

The same material is used to conceal technical systems in the walls and to construct a set of steps and a countertop in the bathroom.

The steps ascend to a platform housing a toilet and shower that look out through a window directly towards the sea.

The home's entrance is set into an arch that is partly glazed and shielded by vertical metal bars. A black mesh covers an alcove containing storage units and worktops in the kitchen.

This is the third such apartment that Pitsou Kedem and his studio have renovated in Jaffa. The previous projects include a home featuring a floating iron staircase set into an exposed concrete wall that ascends to a new mezzanine.

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Project credits:

Design: Irene Goldberg, Pitsou Kedem
Project architect: Raz Melamed
Styling for photography: Eti Buskila

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