White City, Tel Aviv תל-אביב

White City (העיר הלבנה‎‎, Ha-Ir ha-Levana, tel-aviv.gov.il/en/Pages/HomePage.aspx ) is a collection of over 4000(!) original white buildings built in a unique Bauhaus or International  Style in the very centre of Tel Aviv. Built in the 1930’s by German-Jewish architects fleeing from Nazi persecution, White City became a UNESCO  world heritage site in 2003 as “an outstanding example of new town planning and architecture in the early 20th century.” The original European architectural style was adapted to the  realities of the local hot and humid Mediterranean climate by changing the exterior colour to white to reflect the sun’s rays and replacing the large areas of glass in the European Bauhaus style with smaller recessed windows to limit the amount of sunshine and heat entering the apartments.  The originally designed slanted roofs were replaced with flat ones to allow residents to use them as terraces to take advantage of incoming sea breezes. Staying in a Bauhaus apartment just down the block from Kikar Dizengoff (Dizengoff Square) (https://happyintlv.net/item/in-2017-dizengoff-square-wont-look-like-this-anymore/). I can attest to the sensibility of these adaptations as the temperatures and humidity in Tel Aviv have soared the past few days. Although the main streets are full of people in outdoor cafes and restuarants in the evenings, my street remains peaceful, deserted and very quiet at night.

Walking home tonight, I was struck by the contrast of the curving white shapes of the buildings agains the dark night sky. I had a bit of fun post-processing them afterwards (but only a bit, I promise!) and I love the “noisy” (grainy) effect that the low light gave these photos – a bit ‘Rodchenko-esque’ (theartstory.org/artist-rodchenko-alexander.htm) by accident!