The design for the store on Ometosando uses refined geometry to sculpt space, shape patterns of movement and create atmosphere. Gestures are pared to a minimum, with the emphasis falling on a series of immersive sensory encounters with natural materials and elements of borrowed landscape — most powerfully in the play of light on timber, stone and steel, and through the branches and foliage of a mature tree.
The context of this complex architectural undertaking is a site of extraordinary historical and cultural richness, set on the crown of the ancient port city of Jaffa within the walls of the Crusader citadel, with views over the roofs of the old town to the sea, along the broad sweep of the beach front and across to the skyscrapers, Art Deco, classical and modernist buildings of the Tel Aviv skyline.
Throughout the project, the aim has been to preserve and retune the existing historic and archaeological structures whilst also adding significant contemporary elements, creating a powerful new spatial narrative, charged with atmosphere and a seamless sense of place, plans and elevations flexing in response to the site walls and to key landmarks in the surrounding cityscape.
- Interiors: John Pawson
- Words: Gina