Project: The Revealing House / Dynamic Living Experience
Architects: Israelsevitz Architects
Location: Israel
Year 2019
Photos: Assaf Pinchuk photography
This home, which stands in one of the pastoral areas of northern Israel, features an innovative and groundbreaking design which redefines the residential experience. It provides its owners with a different, innovative and dynamic living experience which can be sensed in each of its spaces.
The structure was built on a hillside in the Carmel area and blends well into its surrounding landscape. Since it stands on a terrain with a complex topography, the architectural structure had to take the slope into account. This exceptionally large building features several levels. When observing a satellite photo, one can notice how it spreads out over a large area on the huge slope. However, when viewed from the front, it appears to blend in harmoniously with the landscape of its area. When seen from the side facing the street, the house will appear as a single-floored building with a minimalistic, mysterious and unintimidating appearance. The structure does not build itself upwards but instead, downward, in accordance with the terrain’s topography. This way, upon entering the property, one descends toward the entrance floor which includes the living room, kitchen, dining room and pool and serves as an intermediate floor from which one can climb up to the parents’ floor and the children’s floor. This intermediate entrance floor also leads to the garage floor and more.
A lace wall of steel columns and concrete rectangular blocks serves to separate between the main facade and the front door. This element is characteristic of Israelevitz Architects’ approach to planning, according to which spaces are created to reveal themselves gradually rather than all at once – leaving much that remains hidden to the eye. The airy wall creates a hiatus between the building’s exterior facade that faces its surroundings and the private space. This is a motif that provides a sense of maximal intimacy.
Upon entering the house, one is greeted by a spacious foyer and a public space. In its center are two inner courtyards, which are surrounded by glass blocks. In the center of each courtyard are mirror-pools with pebbles and ornamental trees. The passage between these two leads to the living room. To its left are the kitchen, dining area and swimming pool which is visible from each corner on this level.
The floor of this space was covered with large (3/1 m) thin and dark-toned tiles with a concrete texture. The walls were covered with a cloudy concrete-effect paint, creating an elegant and cohesive look and a warm and intimate feeling within the spacious shared space.
The exceptionally large kitchen expands upon a surface area of approximately 60 square meters. In its center stands a large kitchen island, measuring approximately 7-meter-long. The stainless-steel surface and sides were tailor made and imported as a single piece from the Netherlands. The plan included openings in the center of the surface for an I-Cooking induction stove, an opening for a ventilation hood which connects to the surface as well as built in power outlets. The legs of the bar stools were made of metal and their seat and backrest were made of leather, which was cut and stretched using a special technology to give it a mesh-like look.
The two tall facades were hand-coated with a metallic alloy, by an artisan who specializes in unique-textured paints. One of them features a built-in door that leads to a pantry room. The insides of the cabinets were coated with an oak veneer. The cabinet doors fold into the furniture body to enable continuous, undisrupted work – even when cabinet doors are wide open. Within the facades are two fully equipped utility corners – one is used for baking, while the other serves as a coffee corner and includes a Nespresso machine and other necessary equipment. The center of the facade which faces the island and dining area features an alcove lined with oak veneer. When needed, a television screen can be pulled out into its upper part.
Because of the exceptionally large dining area with its non-standard dimensions, the tabletop (approx. 4.2 m long) was tailor-made as a single thin and dense layer of concrete with a resin finish, which gives it an ironlike appearance but feels warm and cozy to touch. Apart from its contribution to appearance, the resin layer improves the durability of the surface. Moreover, its non-absorbent qualities facilitate cleaning and maintenance. The acrylic dining chairs were made of polyurethane. They are elastic, flexible, comfortable and, much like the table surface, they are resistant to dirt and easy to maintain. The table is lighted by a pair of modern brass lamps with transparent glass bubbles.
A large window leads from the kitchen to the pool area, which is an integral part of the home with its floating, suspended-in-mid-air appearance. The pool is flanked with airy lace walls, which focus your gaze on the valley landscape in the west. Beneath the pool is a garage, an additional play area for the children and the pool’s machine room that can be accessed through a designated staircase or an elevator located near the entrance to the home. The garden furniture are special imports from Italy.
The uniquely designed entrance passage to the living room creates a special experience by passing through the two inner courtyards. One of the courtyards features translucent sides, while the other is opaque and passes through the living room, while forming continuity with the configuration of the exterior facade, which features wood-textured vertical profiles. The decorative facade creates a warm, intimate and stylish feel, while balancing and mediating between the monochromatic, gray-shaded floor and ceiling and the translucent windows that open up toward the pool. A set of deep, luxurious and modular couches can be used to create different seating configurations, according to the hosted event. A set of movable and versatile tables in various wood and marble finishes were placed next to the sofas to add richness to the space.
The shades and materials of the upholstery on the two swiveling armchairs were a special selection for this space, as they add unconventional touches of color: one is mustard colored, while the other comes in a shade of turquoise. The space also includes a wooden liquor cabinet, which was handcrafted by an artisan. Its interior is lined with natural leather, while its front facade features a grill of vertical wooden panels that matches the living room’s facade. The top surface of the cabinet was made from natural marble. The decorative figures placed upon it – a group of female characters from different cultures – are part of a unique collection called Sisters.
Near the entrance to the house are two separate staircases – one leads to an upper basement with a large garage, a playroom and utility rooms, while the other goes up to two different levels – the first one features an entrance to the master bedroom while the second leads to the children’s floor.
The upper level features five sleeping suites for the children and a living room in its center, which can be used as a play area or a family den. Each suite includes a bathroom and spacious closets. In some of these suites, the entrance to the bathroom is made through a built-in hidden door in the closets’ facade. The walls and ceiling in the bathrooms were covered with LG Hi-MACS sheets that can be welded together while maintaining a homogeneous, “stitch-free” appearance.
An additional staircase leads to a lower level, where a master bedroom of 70 square meters is located. The furniture in the master bedroom were curated from leading Italian home-design brands. In the center of the bedroom is a bed with nubuck leather upholstery, which stands between two decorative lamps. The bed faces a dark glass wall which includes a TV screen and a door to the bathroom, which can also be accessed through the closet foyer. The bedroom walls and cabinets are covered with oak parquet tiles in a smoky-hued zig-zag pattern, combined with faux leather cladding and hidden lighting.
The walls of the master bathroom are covered with large granite porcelain tiles, which create a uniform, “stitch-free” appearance. The center of this space is occupied by a freestanding bathtub, which is located next to a toilet cell and a wash cabinet with two sinks – one for him and one for her. The special faucet system features an unconventional design. It blends-in as an integral part of an aluminum shelf that can be used to store cosmetics.
