Rebuilding an Icon

Nicknamed White City, Israel’s most cosmopolitan town Tel Aviv is intent on restoring its former glory, one Bauhaus building at a time.

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WHEN FRENCH ARCHITECT JEAN NOUVEL FIRST VISITED TEL AVIV IN 1995, he noted that the famed White City was anything but the colour of snow. “They told me that the city is white. Do you see white? I don’t see any white.” Nouvel’s disappointment was understandable. White City was grey, all shades of grey – from dove to dirty metal grey. In the city centre that was being restored, the rainbow hues of other conserved buildings shattered the myth further.

Since it was conferred the UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2003 for being home to the largest collection of Bauhaus structures in the world, White City has lost much of its charm. Corroded by the salty sea air, many of its Bauhaus buildings are now structurally precarious and on the brink of ruin. Conservationists also find it impossible to repair the original building elements — light switches, door handles and windows — that the emigrating German Jews brought with them from 1930s Germany. “We don’t have the know-how or the skilled craftspeople for such specialised renovation work,” says Sharon Golan Yaron, an architect with the Tel Aviv Conservation Department. After a decade of being a feted architectural icon, White City is facing the very real threat of having its UNESCO status withdrawn.