A Hotel-Like Apartment in Tel Aviv for the New Urban Lifestyle

With so many working from home and vacations out of reach for the time being, our residences are becoming a place we spend much of our time and because of that, our relationship with our spaces is evolving and requiring more flexibility and creativity. With that in mind, K.O.T Architects designed this apartment in Tel Aviv to be the “perfect home-base for the new urban lifestyle.”

The firm’s architect and interior designer, Kfir Galatia Azulay, chose to create a hotel-like apartment that perfectly balances “public and private, illuminated and shaded, transparent and concealed.” Inspired by poet Rupi Kaur’s quote, “I am not a hotel room. I am home”, Galatia Azulay designed the apartment, which is located in the Florentine neighborhood in a modernist residential building, to feel like a never-ending vacation for the young bachelor owner.

The original layout offered minimal natural light thanks to a series of enclosed rooms. The renovated space features an open living room, dining area, kitchen, private bedroom, bathroom, and covered terrace, which required all walls to be eliminated so they could start from scratch.

A small entryway leads to a hallway with floor-to-ceiling, custom-built cabinets that make up the apartment’s storage. The function of the cabinets changes depending on which room is across from it, whether it’s the bedroom or bathroom – the closet is opposite the bedroom and the laundry is across from the bathroom. The unit continues down the wall to form the open kitchen.

Built in the center of the apartment is the new bathroom with two corrugated panels of glass that allow views from both sides.

The bedroom, while fairly compact, benefits from sliding glass doors to make it feel larger and more open.

Photos by Gidon Levin.