Gt917 Or Akiva Penthouse Apartment in Ra’anana, Israel by Raz Melamed

Article source: Raz Melamed

From this penthouse apartment designed by architect Raz Melamed, you can gaze at the serene view that stretches from the home onward to the luxurious golf courses of the neighbourhood. At the same time, the waves from the sea that face the house both through the large windows, and in the art adorning the walls with the foam of waves and the serenity of water.

The balcony pool is the prominent element of the house which offers an exciting combination of sea and sky in front of which stands the stark contrast of a rugged industrial landscape.

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

• Architects: Raz Melamed
• Project: Gt917 Or Akiva Penthouse Apartment
• Location: Ra’anana, Israel
• Photography: Itay Benit

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

The pool joins other elements that have been carefully designed to make the apartment unique and luxurious for the young bachelor who lives in it, who wanted a home that is both clean, tidy, and enjoyable, featuring a kitchen that opens to a spacious living space.

The house designed by Melamed is located on the shoreline and includes a spectacular public space as well as a private space with a large master suite, study, guest room, utility room, bathroom, and guest toilet.

Prior to the renovations, there were two main challenges facing the architect:

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

The first was a wide pillar in the corner of the living room that blocked the openness of the magnificent view and the future pool. This pillar disrupted the connection between the interior and the exterior, and it was important for Melamed to eliminate it and to quite literally create full transparency. The solution is in a minimal aluminium profile that has created a continuous corner glass connection. Transparency is an important motif in Melamed’s architectural brand that runs like the second thread in his projects, as he believes in open and bright architecture.

The second challenge was the skimmer of the swimming pool, which looked like a huge cube of water. In the absence of the possibility of moving this components of the pool underground, a place had to be found for the engine room that was eventually located next to it, hidden in a concrete cube to which floating stairs lead and from which one could jump into the refreshing water.

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

The door of the house opens right to an impressive island behind which lays a wine celler placed strategically into the wall. The island is wrapped in Sahara-Noir black stone with gilded tendons in straight and natural geometry, which blend perfectly in front of the tall cabinets in a gilded finish. Above them is a black air conditioning unit that ties in the same color as the black lighting strip and the pergola. Together, they incorporate an internal counter that is hidden in the doors that enter the cabinet body in a way that does not interfere with the passage.

Throughout the day, the sun dynamically affects this front portion of the apartment, while in the evening the sunset turns it golden and at other times actually white. A brass light strip that illuminates the island reinforces the golden hues, and hints at the presence of a rose-gold hue that will be revealed in the rest of the house.

Adjacent to the island sits the dining area covered with a black wooden pallet, which preserves the vibrancy of the space on the one hand, and introduces warmth in materiality on the other. Above it hangs an interesting light fixture reminiscent of a firefly band, which breaks the straight lines around it.

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

Opposite the kitchen and dining area is the living room, in the center of which is a sectional sofa that overlooks the open view, as well as the kitchen. In front of it are two light armchairs in vibrant colors that add joy to the tight space. All of these pieces sit on a rug that embodies the look of the ocean sand, beneath which is a brushed tile floor that also looks like sea sand, creating a dramatic image of crashing waves above it all.

The porch doors lead to a pool that looks like an artistic sculpture. Floating concrete stairs lead to it, contributing to an open look as well as the absence of pillars around them. The outdoor dining area is covered with a pergola that can be fully opened and closed for accommodation even on rainy days.

On the other side of the penthouse is the private area, with the passage to it from the kitchen through a secret door that is a continuation of the tall cabinets, and when closed a complete and perfect space is obtained without protrusions and architectural disturbances.

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

The first to be discovered is the guest bathroom, where the toilet is separated from the sink at the customer’s request. The space is covered with black tile and equipped with black sanitary ware to which wooden shelves have been added, which add warmth to the dramatic space.

The path to the master suite passes the study and the living room, and reaches the parquet-mastered master suite. This design is particularly spacious because in the original design of the house featured three rooms on the property that were dismantled and merged into one space that includes a closet, a bathroom and a sleeping space.

There is full transparency between the three functions, which can also be separated from each other – the bathroom can be closed with a curtain, and the closet is covered with semi-reflective glass that hides the inside of the closet and creates peace in the eyes. For maximum comfort, the lighting is turned on when the doors are opened, and then the parquet that rises from the floor on the walls is clearly exposed, strengthening the feeling of warmth in the room, as well as enveloping the space with continuous material and creating design harmony.

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

In the center of the tall cabinets stands a free-standing island for accessories and jewelry that reinforces the luxurious look, as if it were inside a boutique store. The heights of the ceiling above it vary, and a lighting solution for this is found in the form of a strip recessed in the lowered lighting, which becomes a strip hanging from its elevated part.

Above the bed hangs an art piece featuring a lake which brings the notion of the sea from the front to the back of the house to the most intimate room. The lighting by the side of the bed is unique, with the ceiling light from the closet continuing on one side and tying the two sides of the room and on the other side hanging a light fixture with a weight at the bottom, which throws a beam of light on the wall.

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

The bed and chests of drawers stand on airy metal legs and contribute to lightness in front of the closet, while maintaining an accurate and complete look.

The parquet is drawn into the bathroom, with only the glass cube of the shower and toilet changing the flooring to natural stone. The entrance to it is through a single door that changes its opening direction depending on the function used. The space combines white and black sanitary ware, thinking that the toilet is better to hide on the tile, while the bathroom and sink protrude against the background of the wall.

The water that flows from the wall taps, from the floor or from the rain all comes together to tie in the sea motif is present and envelops the whole house, from the view in the background, through the pool on the balcony, to the bedroom, which at the end wraps in warm materials and meticulous colors.

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

Image Courtesy © Itay Benit

Image Courtesy © Raz Melamed

Tags: Israel, Raanana

Categories: Apartments, House, Penthouses, Residential

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