The historic city of Tel Aviv - which includes textures, complexes and buildings in the city center that were built in the 30s in the international style of architecture ("Bauhaus") - is one of only eight modern complexes that have so far been declared for preservation around the world.
Bauhaus style buildings in Tel Aviv, yesterday. The announcement is an act of official international recognition of the uniqueness of Tel Aviv as a clear representation of international style architecture
Tel Aviv is the 8th modern site declared by UNESCO as designated for preservation
An extraordinary achievement for Israel at the United Nations: the UNESCO Council - the United Nations Organization for Scientific, Educational and Cultural Affairs - announced yesterday at its annual meeting in Paris, the "White City" of Tel Aviv as a world heritage site designated for preservation. The historic city of Tel Aviv - which includes textures, complexes and buildings in the city center that were built in the 30s in the international style of architecture ("Bauhaus") - is one of only eight modern complexes that have so far been declared for preservation around the world. The announcement of Tel Aviv was accepted unanimously by the UNESCO Council, which has 21 member states, and was applauded by all those present, as told by Tel Aviv city engineer, architect Danny Kaiser, who was present at the discussion. According to Kaiser, "The global recognition of the architectural importance of Tel Aviv, combined with the program for the preservation of buildings that is currently under discussion, may bring tourism and encourage investments in Tel Aviv, as is the case with other sites in the world that have been declared as heritage sites, most of them ancient sites." Alongside Kaiser, Tel Aviv was represented at the discussion in Paris by Deputy Mayor Doron Sapir and architect Mike Turner, who was involved in submitting the proposal to UNESCO regarding the declaration of Tel Aviv as a heritage site. The Israeli representatives worked to convince the council members to support the request. At the same time, a delegation from the Palestinian Authority presented its request to the UNESCO Council to declare the Old City of Jerusalem a heritage site at risk. According to Kaiser, the council decided to postpone the decision on the matter until another time. The declaration of the "White City" as a world heritage site is in fact an official international recognition of the uniqueness of Tel Aviv, as clearly representing the architecture of the international style, both due to buildings typical of the style that exist around Dizengoff Square, and because of the typical urban structure designed in the 20s on By the Scottish town planner, Sir Patrick Geddes.
Uniquely to Tel Aviv, hundreds of buildings were built along its streets during the 30s, designed by architects who graduated from architecture schools in Europe, including the "Bauhaus" school in Germany, and architects who worked for the creators of modern architecture, such as Le Corbusier and Mies van de Rohe. The famous architects who worked in those years in Tel Aviv include Dov Karmi, Zeev Rechter, Aryeh Sharon, Yosef Neufeld, Sam Barkai, and others.
The UNESCO Council's declaration generally applies to three complexes: one extends between Ben Gurion Boulevard, Ben Zion Boulevard and Ibn Gvirol Street, with Dizengoff Square in the center, an area roughly overlapping the Geddes plan; The second - the heart of the city, which includes Rothschild Boulevard, from Nachmani Street to the Bhima Theater, including the nearby streets; The third - "Bialik complex", which includes Bialik, Hess, Idelson and other streets. Most of the buildings included in the municipal conservation plan are located in these areas. About two weeks ago, the local committee for planning and construction in Tel Aviv undertook to limit unusual construction in the complexes located in these areas, until the plan for the preservation of buildings is approved, which is currently being deposited with the district committee. Many objections were submitted to the plan and they are currently being discussed before an investigator from the Ministry of the Interior.
Despite the achievement, it is not clear what the effect of the announcement received at UNESCO will be on the approval of the conservation plan. Tel Aviv's uniqueness lies in the first and largest cluster of its kind, which includes buildings in the international style, as Dr. Michael Levin, the architectural historian, claimed for the first time, in the 80s. In an exhibition he curated at the Tel Aviv Museum in 1984, Levin presented the coveted canopies of the "White City" (the name of the exhibition), and drew attention to their historical importance and great beauty, which had been forgotten and destroyed due to poor maintenance, the closing of balconies and other building additions. The "Heart of the City Plan", prepared in those years by the Urban Institute led by the architect Adam Mazor, marked the beginning of awareness for the preservation of buildings and gave it constitutional status. From the beginning of the 90s, the Municipality of Tel Aviv promoted the preparation of a general plan for conservation, by the conservation division headed until recently, for almost a decade, by the architect Nitza Smoak. Its activity in the preparation of the conservation plan and its "house-to-house" struggles for the quality of preservation, (much to the heart of many in Tel Aviv, including residents, property owners and real estate professionals) have played a significant role both in the preservation of dozens of buildings in recent years, and in Tel Aviv's winning the coveted announcement.
International style architecture in Tel Aviv first gained widespread international recognition in the mid-90s, after a conference held in the city in 1994 with the participation of hundreds of architects and architectural historians from around the world. In the decade that has passed since then, many books have been published about Tel Aviv, pointing out the beauty of the modern buildings, but also their sad condition. The UNESCO declaration does not guarantee money for conservation and has no constitutional status. Without public agreement on the importance of conservation and without government support, the declaration will remain only on paper.
Esther Zandberg
Drafting and editing: H. J. Glykasm, translations and technical writing
