Dizengoff square
Welcome to the heart of Tel Aviv!
On April 11, 1909, 66 families gathered at a deserted beach north of Jaffa and raffled off land plots that would later become Tel Aviv. Meir Dizengoff and his wife Zina were among those who took part in the raffle. But this information is irrelevant, right? Well, there is nothing special, except for the fact that Meir would later become Tel Aviv’s mayor (can it be because of his name?) and he held the position all his life until it ended in 1938. The square right in the middle of the city center was named after his wife. It is exclusively referred to as the heart of Tel Aviv. The project originally had a grandiose name of the Étoile of Tel Aviv, which is an indirect reference to Charles de Gaulle Square in Paris. Both the French and the Israeli squares are crossroads of 12 and 6 streets, respectively.
The heart of Tel Aviv has had a total of 5 reconstructions. Local architects were particularly creative in the central part of the square. For example, in 1978, municipal authorities decided to “lift up” the pedestrian area of the square to separate traffic and pedestrians. The fountain and benches appeared in the upper part. In 2016, the authorities decided to revert everything back to the original design. The only thing that remained was the fountain replacing what used to be a small pond.
Apart from the central part and the fountain, there is an eye-catching Esther Cinema, an excellent exponent of the Bauhaus style ("house of building" in German). In 1930s, many Jewish architects had hastily immigrated to Palestine from Germany. As chance would have it, the developing city turned out to provide fertile ground for the supporters of the Bauhaus school of design. More than 4,000 buildings of the Bauhaus have been preserved in Tel Aviv, which makes it an undisputed champion compared with any other city in the world. In 2003, these areas of Tel Aviv were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for their unique architecture under the name White City of Tel Aviv.
The heart of Tel Aviv has had a total of 5 reconstructions. Local architects were particularly creative in the central part of the square. For example, in 1978, municipal authorities decided to “lift up” the pedestrian area of the square to separate traffic and pedestrians. The fountain and benches appeared in the upper part. In 2016, the authorities decided to revert everything back to the original design. The only thing that remained was the fountain replacing what used to be a small pond.
Apart from the central part and the fountain, there is an eye-catching Esther Cinema, an excellent exponent of the Bauhaus style ("house of building" in German). In 1930s, many Jewish architects had hastily immigrated to Palestine from Germany. As chance would have it, the developing city turned out to provide fertile ground for the supporters of the Bauhaus school of design. More than 4,000 buildings of the Bauhaus have been preserved in Tel Aviv, which makes it an undisputed champion compared with any other city in the world. In 2003, these areas of Tel Aviv were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for their unique architecture under the name White City of Tel Aviv.
Task 14.1
Visit the Cinema Hotel to make an appraisal of the Bauhaus. Rooftop bar there is amazing and the view over the square is simply breathtaking. You should also pay attention to the interior details of the hotel. Designers did their best to reflect its connection to times when Esther Cinema was an iconic cinema theater. It is a cool building for the adventurous because it is not too easy to get in there. In particular, you have to pretend that you are the hotel guests. We recommend you to split and send two of your “agents” to find a poster of the erotic masterpiece of 1970s. They should have their photo taken against the background of it. Attention! The poster can be seen from the elevator. All you need is find the right floor.
5 points
Task 14.2
It’s time we finally visited the square and the fountain. What we suggest you complete the task which demonstrates your dance skills. Do you remember Matt who has been dancing around the whole world with people from all walks of life? To jog your memory, here is the link to Matt’s viral video. Now the natural question arises: “Where the Hell is Matt now?” We have no idea where Matt is but we do know that minute 3:42 of the video shows him dancing in front of the Dizengoff Square Fountain. Depending on how skillful you are, try to do Matt’s dance. We are waiting for your horizontal video performance of 15 sec or less. Obviously, include the original score. If your attempt is successful and the video features both your team and local citizens, we will reward you with 15 points!
15 points
Another Bauhaus masterpiece that you can visit to earn even more points is the Liebling Haus which is relatively close.
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