The 700 square-meter office is located in the heart of Tel Aviv in an area filled with Bauhaus buildings and eclectic hybrid skyscrapers; a blended composition of historical structures and modern elements. The space itself is located on the top levels of a historic Bauhaus building, typical of the area. Roy David Architecture was tasked with making the space habitable for the high tech, innovative venture capital company, Aleph.
The VC, is focused on partnering with entrepreneurs from various disciplines to help scale them into large, meaningful companies with globally recognized brands.
Befitting the building’s surroundings, the firm focused on preserving the historical values of the space while infusing modern elements. This process was emphasized by exposing the old foundations of the space and highlighting the untreated concrete core walls and bold rusted metalwork.
“The space is intelligently designed so that it provides the VC with all the amenities and needs of the client, as well as the needs of potential new ventures and their staff, that often reside with VC throughout the first few months. We wanted to shift our design strategy so that the space would reflect the core values Aleph infuses in their mentality on a day to day basis. WE wanted to create a design that tells the story of the VC and the history of the building, but allows for functionality above all else.” explains the architect and founder of Roy David Architecture, Roy David.
Designing within the restrictions of the preservation laws in the Tel Aviv presented a great many challenges that the design team had to solve in a small timeframe of just two months. As part of the overall design process, the company wanted their layout to be open space. This strategy especially strengthened the values of the VC as the whole team, founders and team members alike, share the same space without any separation that could create hierarchy, resulting in an “all are equal mentality”
The space features many modular elements that allow the space to function for a variety of different uses; the main meeting room can be instantly transformed into a larger conference space by folding away the table into a custom designed unit and opening a modular partition created for the space. Because of the open space layout, the designers worked in many comfortably sized “phonebooths” that can be utilized for private phone calls and small meetings throughout the day.
The designers also worked with the Israeli artist, Ohad Benit to create a custom piece for the main entrance. The phrase “DIFFERENT IS BETTER THAN BETTER”, a slogan the company has embraced, is composed of small white figurines, all of which are the same except for one. The collaboration between Alpeh VC and the design team resulted in the creation of a truly custom-made office space; one that embraces the unique requirements of the program, highlights their overall mission and embraces the historically significant culture and architecture of The White City, Tel Aviv.
Material Used :
1. Custom glass partitions - Maars
2. Furniture - Sancal
3. Scala acoustic and lighting element - Abstracta
4. Furniture/workstations - Montana Design
