Tower over me

August 4, 2011 - 10:01 PM by Jessica

The W-Tower

The housing protest is in the news all over Israel, but this particular piece of residential news won’t please the protestors, given that it’s about yet another set of projects that don’t fit their financial demographic. Two new residential high rises in Tel Aviv were nominated for the Best Tall Building Award, presented annually by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in Chicago.

1 Rothschild Blvd.

It’s a big deal in the Israeli architectural world, as it is a first for an Israeli building, much less two, and both were designed by the same architect, Avner Yashar (comical, as his last name means straight). The two buildings are the 32-story tower at 1 Rothschild Boulevard, and W-Tower, which, at 46 stories, is Israel’s tallest residential building.

As for Mr. Yashar, he’s following in his father’s footsteps, Yitzhak Yashar, who designed many of Israel’s well-known buildings, including the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

Dubai's Burj Khalifa

Last year’s award went to Burj Khalifa in Dubai, natch, so if Yashar and his buildings were to win come November, it’d be quite a coup for the Israeli skyscraper scene, given its short history. The country’s first towering building was the Shalom Meir Tower, now known simply as the Shalom Tower, and was built in 1965 in Tel Aviv. It remained the country’s tallest building until 1999, when the Azrieli Center and its three buildings — one square, one triangular and one circular — were built. Then came the City Gate Tower in nearby Ramat Gan, but the W-Tower is currently the country’s tallest residential building. (See Rachel’s recent piece about hi-rises countrywide.)

According to Wikipedia, “New neighborhoods, such as Park Tzameret, are being constructed to house apartment towers such as YOO Tel Aviv towers, designed by Philippe Starck. Other districts, such as Sarona, are being developed with office towers. Other recent additions to Tel Aviv’s skyline are the 1 Rothschild Tower and First International Bank Tower.”

Prices, as to be expected, are not cheap in Yasher’s towers, but neither is Tel Aviv living. In the meantime, good luck to the nominee.

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