Tel Aviv – Architecture And Environmental Side Of The City
Tel Aviv (also called simply: TLV), a century old city that started as a settlement of 66 families rose to become ‘The City that Never Sleeps’ alongside New York. This bustling City, home to more than 400, 000 residents boasts of a fascinating blend of two architectural influences: from Old European Neo-classical romantic designs in the late 1910 to modern world-class Azrieli Center of today. Some of the old buildings were preserved to become historical landmarks of today like the “Pagoda” house on the corner of Melchett, Nachmani and Montifori streets, the “Twin House” on the corner of Strauss and Mazeh streets and the “Levine” house on Rothschild Boulevard.
From 1920′s, internationally designed buildings were erected, known to this day as Bauhaus architecture. The houses had flat roofs, rounded balconies, and longitudinal windows. The designs were developed to create protection against the harsh Mediterranean sun during summers. The collection of these buildings is now considered an UNESCO world heritage site.
The Azrieli Center, on the other hand, is Tel Aviv’s tallest sky-scraper. Three buildings make up this modern architecture, with the 49-floor circular tower which was completed in 1999, the triangular one with 46 floors finished in the same year, and the latest addition, the square tower 8 years later. The Azrieli Center houses Tel Aviv’s biggest shopping center and one of the largest telecommunication companies in Israel.
For years the city has been known to plan its environmental campaigns to be with global perspective to preserve the earth’s ecosystem. In the early 2000′s, TLV transformed some derelict sites into environmentally friendly projects. The Gan Ha Hashmal Garden was once an old power station, and the Ariel Sharon Park, an Eco-theme park was developed from a previously monumental garbage dump. The latter, projected to be completed in 2020, still has recycling and reusing plants that reduce overall city waste and has aided in creating bio-gas that produce electricity. In 2008, the city has also participated in recognizing “Earth Hour” by turning off lights at the designated time. The best thing about this project was the fact that most of the city actually participated in the event and the whole city was practically in the dark. In that same hour one of the Gyms in Tel Aviv had organized about 100 spinner bikes converted to create electricity placed in Rabin Square. They created a whopping 74 Mega Watt!! The city also promotes water saving projects that advocated the wise use of water throughout their municipality, offering incentives to families who participated in these campaigns.
A lot of environmental organizations in Israel are also located in Tel Aviv, some of which are: Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), Life and Environment, Israeli Green Party, Green Action and Adam Teva V’Din: The Israel Union for Environmental Defense.
As you can see – although the city succeeds in preserving the old, it also endorses the new and the whole Eco-friendly city idea. With it’s “24 hour 7″ nightlife, numerous sightseeing spots, interesting historical sites and architectural diversity – Tel Aviv is one city in Israel you cannot (and probably will not) miss.
