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As the name implies, the private Terracotta Townhouse in Jaffa, a city on the Israeli coast that boasts one of the world’s oldest ports, is wrapped in a hallmark brick shell. Nowadays incorporated into the urban area of Tel Aviv, Jaffa stands on a natural promontory overlooking the sea, complete with an Aeolianite hill. The plot on which the home is built lies in the heart of the old town, in an old Islamic neighborhood characterized by typical Arab architectural styles, featuring many buildings constructed from local stone. Over the years, the Pitsou Kedem Architects design firm has worked on a number of historic buildings of this type, respecting the buildings’ original characteristics. But with the new-build Terracotta Townhouse design, the firm opted for a contrasting architectural stylistic approach. Although still predicated on using natural materials found in the local context, the practice created the building to be a multi-story urban residence rather than a multiple housing unit complex.
Commissioned by a couple who have a daughter, the house was built adjacent to a neighboring building after having demolished a previous low-value property. Since the project lot occupies a corner position flush with the street, it was not possible to incorporate a garden around the dwelling. There was, however, scope to carve out green space within the volume in the form of a full-height patio, protected from traffic noise yet exposed to natural light – a design solution that ensures comfort and privacy for the homeowners, while maintaining contact with nature in this private outdoor space.
On an exposed concrete foundation, the residence’s upper portion consists of a brick shell laid as either a solid wall or a perforated screen, providing a kind of second skin outside the windows that open onto the perimeter walls; the brick construction also separates the inner courtyard from the public street. A total of 14,000 bricks were...
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