Israel and Bauhaus Architecture – Another reason to visit Tel Aviv, the city that never sleeps
Imagine Tel Aviv in the 1930's. 150,000 people live there, many of whom are new immigrants. There are only about 8,000 buildings.
As there were no particular architectural styles for the new buildings, and as many architectural ideas were being introduced by architects who returned from their studies abroad, Jewish architects from the Bauhaus school in Germany could also introduce their designs. 4,000 Bauhaus buildings were built, activity which provided much needed work for many of the new immigrants.
What is the Bauhaus movement?
The Bauhaus (or International Style) architecture was founded in 1919 in Weimar, Germany by architect Walter Gropius. Its vision was to combine art and industry by interweaving crafts and fine arts or by reinventing the real world through merging architecture, sculpture and painting. Artists like Paul Klee and Vassily Kandinsky taught at the school in Germany and architect Le Corbusier and others were very influential. The graduates of this movement were artisans and designers who were capable of creating useful and beautiful objects. It became one of the most influential schools of architecture, design, and art of the 20th century.
The Bauhaus principles, which emphasized functionality and inexpensive building materials, were just right for Tel Aviv. The architects fleeing Europe brought not only Bauhaus ideas but other architectural ideas of the best ways to house large numbers of people in blocks of individual apartments stacked one on top of one another, with plans that included a living room, bedrooms, and kitchen, as well as a garden terrace – social housing for workers.
Arieh Sharon, Dov Carmi, Zeev Rechter, Pinchas Hueth, Josef Neufeld, Genia Averbuch, Richard Kauffmann and Erich Mendelsohn are just some of the architects who contributed to the local abundance of Bauhaus architecture.
What does a Bauhaus building look like?
The buildings have no ornamentation, are functional and make use of inexpensive building materials and reinforced concrete. They are usually square. Some have rounded balconies where each balcony provides shade for the one below. The buildings were adapted for the Israeli climate with smaller windows to keep out the Mediterranean heat, pillars which raised the building to allow room for a garden and air flow, flat roofs for social events and the laundry room. These apartment blocks also offered a child care service, a postal service and a store.
Another important note - Tel Aviv's "White City", with the largest number of Bauhaus buildings in the world, was awarded the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status in 2003. Smaller concentrations of Bauhaus buildings can be found in Jerusalem, Haifa and on some kibbutzim.
How can you see the buildings?
Our guide will introduce you to Tel Aviv and its history and how the Bauhaus movement contributed so much to Tel Aviv's present day character. The tour will take you along Rothschild Boulevard, Ahad Ha’am Street, Engel Street, Nachmani Street, Melchett Street and Balfour Street.