Tel Aviv has long been recognized as a city with among the greatest amount of Bauhaus (International style) architecture in the world. There are over 4,000 white Bauhaus buildings in the city, which has given Tel Aviv its nickname “The White City.”
That’s also the name of a new center established by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, the Tel Aviv Foundation and the German government. The Liebling Haus – White City Center has as its mandate “to advance the recognition of the outstanding architectural landscape of Tel Aviv.”
The center will have its grand opening events September 19 to 21, coinciding with the centennial of the Bauhaus school of design and architecture in Germany.
The White City Center opening overlaps with Tel Aviv’s annual Open House extravaganza, where hundreds of private homes, offices and institutions are opened to the public for one weekend a year. Many Bauhaus structures are on this year’s list.
Bauhaus emphasizes functionality over form and favors a lack of ornamentation. Balconies are an essential structure, emphasizing that the exterior of the building should be seen as an extension of the interior.
In 2003, UNESCO declared the center of Tel Aviv, where most of the city’s Bauhaus architecture is located, a World Heritage site.
The new Liebling Haus – White City Center includes exhibition spaces, workshops, a research lab and café. Events and tours will be open to the public. The center will also promote Israeli-German collaborations, especially products that contribute to sustainable conservation.
The center is based in the 80-year-old Liebling Haus at 29 Idelson Street, a Bauhaus building originally constructed as a residence for Tony and Max Liebling in 1936 by architect DovKarmi and engineer Tzvi Barak.
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