“As an architect, when you design a home for yourself, you want it to represent you with all the architectural elements you like,” says architect Oshir Asaban, founder of his eponymous studio.
In this penthouse located in Tel-Aviv, Israel, there is a place for everything. The high-rise apartment spreads over 180 square meters, with an open plan to bring as much light into the house as possible. Asaban did not want to create closed spaces for him and his partner.
“The way we behave at home is that when one of us is working and the other is cooking, we want to be in eye contact with each other”, he describes. Instead of standard doors (except for the bathrooms), there are large partitions that move in the space like walls and allow to close the different areas when needed. Asaban plans his home in frames, like a photographer. He wanted to have a long view from one balcony to the other through the entire length of the apartment.
In addition to the interior spaces, there are two large balconies: one along the public space with a pool and another one along the main bedroom and main bathroom.
“We wanted to give the feeling of a private house and create a real garden there,” says Asaban. “This is a place where you forget that you are in a tower and in the center of an urban area.”
The apartment was bought as an ‘empty box’. Originally, there were only concrete perimeter walls and gravel on the floor. Since the penthouse does not face south and east, the light does not enter directly during most of the day. This is why Asaban decided to use a light and calm palette of natural and practical materials that serves as a neutral backdrop.
The main living area is paved with tiles measuring 3 meters by 1 meter to produce a smooth, bright and uniform look. Moving on to the bedroom area, Asaban didn’t want to make just a simple threshold that would separate the flooring from the parquet so he designed a large Guatemalan verde stone slab. Having the same width as the stone slab, a natural iron cladding goes up to the walls and ceiling, creating a type of ‘gate’ and passage to the private space.
The furniture has neutral tones with black touches for a peaceful and pleasant atmosphere. Brass elements appear in the carpentry and through some details of the flooring while large artworks and textiles add splashes of color to the spaces.
“I really love mid-century design, so there are many custom-designed elements in this home such as the bookshelves in the living room, the desk in the bedroom and the dressers in the study that give the feeling of something that was not built today, something that was here even before we entered”, says Asaban. “Of course, we are no longer in the 50’s, so some features have turned from modern to classic, including the frames on the walls, the high panel on the walls, the touches of brass, and the natural stone which is timeless for me.
Team:
Architect: Oshir Asaban Architects
Photographer: Sivan Askayo
Materials used:
Oshir Asaban designed most of the furniture himself: the dining room table, living room table, desk, bookshelves, sofas, some of the lighting fixtures, and all the taps.
Art: Aviv Grinberg; Miriam Cabessa
Office side tables: USM
