Israel’s Mediterranean city of Bat Yam is pulling itself out of obscurity with one of the most unusual art spaces we’ve seen. Located just south of Tel Aviv – the country’s most well-known seaside city, the Riviera used to be a thumping nightclub in the 1950s and 1960s. Now it’s a very yellow and open industrial-chic art colony and public gallery that features a sea sand floor and some seriously gritty street art.
Derman Verbakel Architecture was commissioned by the city to revive the 1200 square meter space that was previously defined by a series of artisinal columns and beams. It had been left fallow for years.
The design team opted for a minimalist approach to the intervention and essentially left much of the existing space as they found it apart from adding some yellow paint and neon lights.
In order to create a fluid continuation between the open-plan gallery and the beach, the designers used sea sand to create a stabilized sand floor.
A sustainable addition to the former nightclub that almost entirely eradicates site disruption, the sandy floor is designed to encourage bikini-clad beach-goers to experience the art exhibition space as part of their daily sun-worshipping ritual.
This seems so much more organic to us than going home, putting on a pile of makeup and dressing in Versace in order to see scripted pieces on a giant white wall.
Other signs that Bat Yam is putting itself on the map – both architecturally and creatively – include the annual 72 Hour Urban Action architecture competition that invites talented young design teams from around the world to transform decaying urban areas in the city within just 72 hours!
Watch out Tel Aviv, Bat Yam is coming alive!
:: Arch Daily
Images via Derman Verbakel Architecture
