Designed by Ron Arad Architects, 154 Ha-Yarkon Street is a new residential building in Tel Aviv, Israel. The luxury apartment building will be located on the Mediterranean promenade of Ha-Yarkon Street. The building will lie within the UNESCO world heritage site known as White City in Tel Aviv. It is a unique conservation area with the largest collection of original existing Bauhaus buildings in the world. The building forms part of a regeneration of the site.
The client for the 154 Ha-Yarkon Street project is Samy Marziano. Construction of the building is scheduled to begin at the end of 2010. The total area of the building will be 5,500m².
Master plan
Ron Arad Architects was commissioned in 2006 to design and develop the sea-front residential block, which will be located along the northern reaches of Ha-Yarkon Street. The site of the building is on the corner of Am-Israel-Chai Street and Ha-Yarkon Street. The east-westerly axis site overlooks the sea and lies along Ha-Yarkon Street to the west.
The aim of the development was to provide each apartment with clear views of the sea, even from the lower floors of the building. The front façade of the sea-facing building was maximised to preserve the exterior views. The building is therefore conceptualised as a  three cone scheme with curved shapes. The 1,100m² L-shaped site on 154 Ha-Yarkon Street will consist of 11 apartments.
Design of 154 Ha-Yarkon Street
The cones of 154 Ha-Yarkon Street (154HYS) will be designed as a series of undulating slabs and perimeter balustrades to reflect the topography.
The three inverted conical volumes will be connected to one another through organisational and structural principles. Two of the cone structures will be built on the ground while the third will be a cantilevered structure.
The front 20m section of the building will be cantilevered above a private garden, rising 8m above the street-level on Tel Aviv’s beach promenade. The other two volumes will support and provide structural reinforcement to the cantilevered section. The 250m² curved landscaped gardens will form the entrance to the building.
The division of the 154HYS building into three cones will provide more space for accommodation.
The central cone will house facilities such as staircases and lifts, communal secure rooms and services risers. It will act as nucleus for the building. The cone in the south-east will have the foyer and the main entrance to the building. The cantilevered western cone will have accommodation and public areas. The individual apartments will be built in the form of egg-shaped shells in curved structures. Each apartment will have an individual wall providing protection and privacy.
Materials
Located in the city of Holon, south of Tel Aviv, Israel, the Design Museum Holon is the first national museum dedicated to design.
The building will be constructed with reusable curved concrete formwork. The slabs will use technical innovations such as post-tensioning cables and a compressed structural system to create a sculptural, monolithic structure. The balustrades will have curved laser-cut steel rails for a glazing effect. The external decks will use Ipé timber and the floors will be polished basalt .
The north and east façades will use custom-extruded aluminium slats to create balcony screens. A palette of monochromatic tints will be used for the concrete to give the curvaceous balustrades the effect of the 1930s Bauhaus architecture.
Facilities
The 154HYS building will have six floors with two individual apartments on each floor. The building will have a roof terrace with a pool accessible to all the apartments. Small curved communal gardens will be available between the open-air corridors of the apartments. The sixth floor will have just a single apartment.
The penthouse level will have a studio apartment, separate pavilion, private access to the roof, a fenced roof plant, private swimming pool, sun terrace and observation deck.
The two basement levels will have 17 parking spaces with a curved access ramp from the street, technical plant rooms and storage bays. 154HYS will also accommodate a spa / leisure centre with sauna, steam rooms, jacuzzi, treatment rooms, relaxation lounge and gym. The spa will have a dedicated private staircase entrance from the street level.