The Levee A New Hospitality Venture Captures Tel Avivs Zeitgeist

2019-08-05 18:20

Housed in a historic villa in Neve Tzedek, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Tel Aviv, Israel, “The Levee” is the town’s latest hospitality arrival offering eight spacious apartments of understated luxury and contemporary sophistication where guests can feel at home. Gracefully revamped during ten years of meticulous restoration by Tel Aviv-based Bar Orian Architects, the two-storey villa is crowned by a new rooftop-spanning penthouse whose contemporary sensibility, far from clashing with the century-old architecture, creates a hybrid sensibility that captures the city’s zeitgeist. Designed by Israeli-Belgian interior designer Yael Siso, The Levee’s eight apartments follow the exterior’s eclectic paradigm by combining an industrial vibe with a refined aesthetic based on mid-century elegance and modern minimalism. Originally named The Gurevitch House, the villa was built in 1913 and is now part of Tel Aviv’s UNESCO World Heritage site of 4,000 Bauhaus and Eclectic architecture-style buildings. When it came to designing the new penthouse, as well as an extension at the back of the building, instead of emulating the eclectic style of the existing building which can be summed up as an amalgamation of neoclassical influences and oriental details, the architects choose a contemporary aesthetic in the form of a cubic volume completely clad in metal grating. Separated from the original building by an intermediate level that has been set back, the striated block seems to hover above the villa while the floor below enjoys the use of a balcony that wraps around the glass-fronted spaces.

位于以色列特拉维夫(特拉维夫)最古老街区之一的内芙·泽德克(Neve Tzedek)的一座历史悠久的别墅里，“利维”(The Levee)是该镇最新的款待之一，提供了八套宽敞的豪华和现代风格的公寓，客人可以在这里在特拉维夫的巴尔奥里安建筑师精心修缮的十年里，这座两层楼高的别墅加冕为一座新的屋顶顶楼，它的当代情感与百年老建筑并没有冲突，它创造了一种混合情感，抓住了这座城市的时代精神。由以色列-比利时室内设计师雅尔西索设计，莱维的八套公寓遵循外部的折衷模式，将工业氛围与以世纪中叶优雅和现代极简主义为基础的精致美学结合起来。这座别墅最初被命名为古里维茨宫，建于1913年，现在是特拉维夫教科文组织世界遗产遗址的一部分，拥有4，000套包豪斯和折中建筑风格的建筑。当涉及到新的顶层公寓的设计，以及在建筑物后面的延伸，而不是模仿现有建筑的折中风格，可以概括为新古典影响和东方细节的融合，建筑师选择了一种当代的审美形式，以立方体的形式，完全覆盖金属光栅。与原来的建筑隔着一层中间层，中间层已经倒了回去，条纹块似乎悬浮在别墅的上方，而下面的地板则享受着阳台的使用，它环绕着玻璃正面的空间。

Photo © The Levee.

照片是利未人。

Photo © The Levee.

照片是利未人。

Photo © The Levee.

照片是利未人。

Photo © The Levee.

照片是利未人。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Ranging from 115 to 280 square metres, all eight apartments feel spacious and bright, blessed as they are with generous ceiling heights and plenty of daylight, courtesy of large windows and floor to ceiling glazing in the penthouse. Contrary to the historic look of the villa’s restored exterior, the refurbished loft-like interiors are underpinned by an industrial aesthetic featuring untreated cement walls, board-formed concrete ceilings and exposed air ducts. This urban aesthetic was not a capricious decision by the designer but rather a homage to the building’s original building fabric: the concrete surfaces were revealed after removing several layers of paint and are a testament to the city’s early adoption of modern building practices.

从115平方米到280平方米不等，所有八套公寓都感觉宽敞明亮，因为它们拥有宽敞的天花板高度和充足的日光，包括大窗户和地板到顶棚玻璃。与别墅恢复外部的历史外观相反，整修后的阁楼（如室内）以工业美学为基础，采用未经处理的水泥墙、板状混凝土天花板和外露风管。这个城市的美学不是设计师的决定，而是对建筑原有的建筑结构的敬意：混凝土表面在去除了几层油漆后被揭示出来，是城市早期采用现代建筑实践的证明。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

Photo © Sivan Askayo.

照片：Sivan Askayo。

If the rugged, rough-hewn surfaces embody Tel Aviv’s dynamic past, then the impeccable modern finishes and elegant contemporary furnishings speak of the city’s celebrated present. Beautiful timber floors, minimal glass partitions and exquisitely crafted built-in furniture imbue the spaces with a sense of nonchalant sophistication, which is further enhanced by an eclectic collection of modernist and contemporary pieces from iconic Italian brands. Featuring all those amenities that make the difference between a rented apartment and an authentic home, from en-suite bathrooms and private balconies, to state-of-the-art appliances and Egyptian cotton linens, equal attention has been given to comfort and elegance. With a team of dedicated staff at the guests’ disposal, including an around-the-clock concierge service, visitors may need some encouragement to tear themselves away from the luxurious embrace of The Levee in order to explore the city.

如果说这些崎岖粗糙的表面体现了特拉维夫生机勃勃的过去，那么完美的现代装饰和优雅的现代家具就说明了这座城市著名的现在。漂亮的木地板、极小的玻璃隔墙和精心制作的内置家具，使空间充满了一种淡雅的复杂感，这一点因意大利标志性品牌的现代派和当代作品的兼收并蓄而得到进一步加强。从套间浴室和私人阳台，到最先进的家电和埃及棉布，所有这些便利设施使租来的公寓和真正的家变得与众不同，人们对舒适和优雅给予了同等的关注。有一支尽职尽责的工作人员为客人服务，包括全天候的礼宾服务，游客们可能需要一些鼓励才能远离豪华的利未人的怀抱，以探索这座城市。