This private residence duplex located in a residential complex set on a beach, close to a nature reserve just outside of Tel Aviv, Israel was designed by architects Lihi Gerstner and her brother Din Gerstner of Gerstner Architects as a soothing space for the busy owner, who lives and works from his own residence. The two bedroom, three bathroom, 2,583 square foot (240 square meters) house therefore, provides two separate entrances, a private entry in to the heart of the living area and a public entrance through the garden terrace, directing to the external office.

The house is planned as a pure entertainment machine, indoors and out. The concept was to allow continuity between the inside and outside, to open the house to as much light and view to the exterior, a main attraction of the property.  While entering the house, the user is exposed to an open kitchen and a large living room with large openings to the garden terrace. The large transparent barrier distorts the separation between inside and outside. The terrace directed to the sea with its lounge bar, kitchen barbeque area, Jacuzzi, dining area and sofas acts as an extension of the interior living space in to the outside.

The pure living space with its built-in furniture hides and blurs the kitchen closets as well as the bathroom doors.

This pivoting door opens up into the home’s entrance hall from the apartment building’s hallway.

The ethereal sculptress staircase engages the vertical space and brings more luminosity and lightness to the main space. These triangular cantilever stairs leads to the private section of the house. A transparent plasma glass wall creates a separation between the private and public sections, allowing a control of privacy over the guest users.

On the second story, a plasma window has remote-controlled transparency, either opening or blocking the view into the master bedroom.

Wood treads in a triangular shape allow for optimum strength in a slim form.

The main bedroom suite, planned as an open room.  The bathtub and toilette are exposed to the sleeping area as well as to the outside. A feeling of sleeping and bathing in the wilderness.

The white color palette is a tribute to the owner’s style, but was also selected to allow the view to become the home’s focus.

The office was planned as an extension to the house totally separated from the private area, where the owner receives clients and is accessed via the terrace. It has as well, a full ocean view but is not perceived by the private user, allowing a total separation between work and play.

The architects increased the square footage of the garden terrace and outfitted the space with multiple seating areas and a complete outdoor kitchen. At night a projector, which is hung from the bottom of a balcony on the second floor,  displays movies on the stone wall of the neighboring apartment complex.

Photos: Amit Geron