Great, very nice photos from Tel Aviv 
Tel Aviv by Ynhockey
Sometimes I do photo walks in Tel Aviv, mainly in the business districts. Here are some photos from Friday:
All photos are high-resolution (click to enlarge, then double-click to fully zoom in, or right-click + open in new tab), and are on Wikimedia Commons, where I released them under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Note that the photos have descriptions
Thread photo posting rules:
You may post your own photos here, if they are relevant to the specific discussion and topic of the post. However, since all posts in this thread are assumed to be under CC-BY-SA 4.0, please only post your own work that you are willing to release under CC-BY-SA 4.0, i.e. unlimited free re-use with credit. If unwilling, please post the photos in another thread and post a link here, if relevant to the discussion.
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Background information:
Tel Aviv is Israel's main metropolitan area, with about 4 million inhabitants. However, like Vancouver and a past version of London, there is no single municipality in the metropolitan, and it's actually divided into 30+ municipal authorities, and only Israelis can tell the difference. Tel Aviv "proper" has about 450,000 inhabitants, and is the second-largest city in Israel after Jerusalem.
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Starting in the south, with Rubinstein Tower. Rubinstein Tower is one of only five buildings above 100 m to be built in Tel Aviv proper before the turn of the century. It completed in 1999 and doesn't look super-impressive today, but it's located right on the crossroads of the light rail system under construction in the city (Red & Green lines), so the area will get a lot more traffic. New skyscrapers are being built all around Rubinstein Tower, so this vantage point won't be possible in a few short months.
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On the other side of the previous photo, new skyscrapers have already been built. The two on the right are also by Rubinstein (a local developer), called Rubinstein Twins. The tower on the left is called Acro Tower. The whole block is called Hassan Arafe Compound, and 13 towers are planned in total. There was an article about it just yesterday, in English: Hassan Arafa: Tel Aviv's new city within a city
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North of this is the Sarona CBD. It has a number of interesting projects, but they are still not fully developed, so I will post them on another photo walk. For now, here is the skybridge in one of the tower complexes, HaArba'a Towers:
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Azrieli Center is Israel's first true skyscraper complex, completed in 1999, and still being constantly developed. The circular tower still has an observation deck that still offers stunning views, despite being blocked on one side by Midtown Tower. First thing's first: here is the tower blocking the view:
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Midtown is not just one tower, but an entire central business district in itself. It was full of abandoned factories and parking lots until ~2013, except one lone mid-rise, when Midtown Towers began construction. The first tower completed in 2017, and now there are a bunch. This view is from the opposite side.
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From Azrieli Center, it is still possible to see Park Tzameret. Park Tzameret is a neighborhood of residential skyscrapers, with the last and tallest one (ROM Tel Aviv) under construction in the foreground. While this is a very good-looking neighborhood with some top architectural names designing some of the towers, it's completely disconnected from the street and has many celebrity inhabitants who want privacy.
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To the north, a new neighborhood seeks to emulate Park Tzameret, albeit hopefully more connected to the city. It's called Bavli, and has historically housed poor immigrant families without full rights to their properties, so there was a great controversy when the massive E-B started. Still, it's progressing with one tower complete and two under construction.
![]()
Leaving Tel Aviv proper, here is the famous Diamond Exchange District in Ramat Gan (on the left). Ramat Gan has a history of competing with Tel Aviv on skyscraper height, and has Moshe Aviv Tower (center, background), which is still possibly the tallest in Israel (235 m from main entrance, but 244 m from a side entrance, taller than Tel Aviv's Azrieli Sarona). The rest of the Diamond Exchange is a little stuck in the past, but major development is planned for it, including a 520-meter tower.
On the right side of the picture is another new skyscraper district, called Givatayim City. This is a small nook in the already small city of Givatayim (pop. 60,000), but they also want the lucrative business property taxes, and have approved some tall skyscrapers. In the foreground is HaShahar ("The Dawn") Tower, and Hi Tower (residential) under construction. The large pit in the foreground is Givatayim's planned supertall, called Beyond, by Tidhar. Despite recent flooding issues, it might still become Israel's first supertall, and Givatayim might become the smallest city to house a supertall in the world (correct me if I'm wrong).
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A little ways off is one of the most exciting new business centers in Tel Aviv's metro area. Bnei Brak is a highly religious city where most families have many children and get exemptions from property taxes. The city was therefore historically impoverished, until they decided to build a major business area, and approved what were at the time unusually tall skyscrapers in close proximity. Many of them are completed or U/C right now, with the tallest being over 200 m (ILDC 3 Tower, the one U/C in the very back).
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Finally I will leave you with a bit of nostalgia. The Ramat Gan Twins were built in 1991, on the outskirts of the Diamond Exchange District. That seems like ages away, when the ~100 m towers of the exchange district seemed like gigantic skyscrapers, and in that context the 85 m twins seemed impressive. I remember being impressed in the early 90s, anyway. The cladding of the towers is very reflective, so artistic photos with them would still be interesting.
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Hope you enjoyed this photo walk through Tel Aviv.
All photos are high-resolution (click to enlarge, then double-click to fully zoom in, or right-click + open in new tab), and are on Wikimedia Commons, where I released them under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Note that the photos have descriptions
Thread photo posting rules:
You may post your own photos here, if they are relevant to the specific discussion and topic of the post. However, since all posts in this thread are assumed to be under CC-BY-SA 4.0, please only post your own work that you are willing to release under CC-BY-SA 4.0, i.e. unlimited free re-use with credit. If unwilling, please post the photos in another thread and post a link here, if relevant to the discussion.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Background information:
Tel Aviv is Israel's main metropolitan area, with about 4 million inhabitants. However, like Vancouver and a past version of London, there is no single municipality in the metropolitan, and it's actually divided into 30+ municipal authorities, and only Israelis can tell the difference. Tel Aviv "proper" has about 450,000 inhabitants, and is the second-largest city in Israel after Jerusalem.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Starting in the south, with Rubinstein Tower. Rubinstein Tower is one of only five buildings above 100 m to be built in Tel Aviv proper before the turn of the century. It completed in 1999 and doesn't look super-impressive today, but it's located right on the crossroads of the light rail system under construction in the city (Red & Green lines), so the area will get a lot more traffic. New skyscrapers are being built all around Rubinstein Tower, so this vantage point won't be possible in a few short months.
On the other side of the previous photo, new skyscrapers have already been built. The two on the right are also by Rubinstein (a local developer), called Rubinstein Twins. The tower on the left is called Acro Tower. The whole block is called Hassan Arafe Compound, and 13 towers are planned in total. There was an article about it just yesterday, in English: Hassan Arafa: Tel Aviv's new city within a city
North of this is the Sarona CBD. It has a number of interesting projects, but they are still not fully developed, so I will post them on another photo walk. For now, here is the skybridge in one of the tower complexes, HaArba'a Towers:
Azrieli Center is Israel's first true skyscraper complex, completed in 1999, and still being constantly developed. The circular tower still has an observation deck that still offers stunning views, despite being blocked on one side by Midtown Tower. First thing's first: here is the tower blocking the view:
Midtown is not just one tower, but an entire central business district in itself. It was full of abandoned factories and parking lots until ~2013, except one lone mid-rise, when Midtown Towers began construction. The first tower completed in 2017, and now there are a bunch. This view is from the opposite side.
From Azrieli Center, it is still possible to see Park Tzameret. Park Tzameret is a neighborhood of residential skyscrapers, with the last and tallest one (ROM Tel Aviv) under construction in the foreground. While this is a very good-looking neighborhood with some top architectural names designing some of the towers, it's completely disconnected from the street and has many celebrity inhabitants who want privacy.
To the north, a new neighborhood seeks to emulate Park Tzameret, albeit hopefully more connected to the city. It's called Bavli, and has historically housed poor immigrant families without full rights to their properties, so there was a great controversy when the massive E-B started. Still, it's progressing with one tower complete and two under construction.
Leaving Tel Aviv proper, here is the famous Diamond Exchange District in Ramat Gan (on the left). Ramat Gan has a history of competing with Tel Aviv on skyscraper height, and has Moshe Aviv Tower (center, background), which is still possibly the tallest in Israel (235 m from main entrance, but 244 m from a side entrance, taller than Tel Aviv's Azrieli Sarona). The rest of the Diamond Exchange is a little stuck in the past, but major development is planned for it, including a 520-meter tower.
On the right side of the picture is another new skyscraper district, called Givatayim City. This is a small nook in the already small city of Givatayim (pop. 60,000), but they also want the lucrative business property taxes, and have approved some tall skyscrapers. In the foreground is HaShahar ("The Dawn") Tower, and Hi Tower (residential) under construction. The large pit in the foreground is Givatayim's planned supertall, called Beyond, by Tidhar. Despite recent flooding issues, it might still become Israel's first supertall, and Givatayim might become the smallest city to house a supertall in the world (correct me if I'm wrong).
A little ways off is one of the most exciting new business centers in Tel Aviv's metro area. Bnei Brak is a highly religious city where most families have many children and get exemptions from property taxes. The city was therefore historically impoverished, until they decided to build a major business area, and approved what were at the time unusually tall skyscrapers in close proximity. Many of them are completed or U/C right now, with the tallest being over 200 m (ILDC 3 Tower, the one U/C in the very back).
Finally I will leave you with a bit of nostalgia. The Ramat Gan Twins were built in 1991, on the outskirts of the Diamond Exchange District. That seems like ages away, when the ~100 m towers of the exchange district seemed like gigantic skyscrapers, and in that context the 85 m twins seemed impressive. I remember being impressed in the early 90s, anyway. The cladding of the towers is very reflective, so artistic photos with them would still be interesting.
Hope you enjoyed this photo walk through Tel Aviv.
10
1 - 20 of 42 Posts
OK I was really busy in the last few months, not enough time for a proper photo walk. But I am back for another one! @christos-greece
We will start with Ramat Gan. Ramat Gan's city hall has historically competed with Tel Aviv on who can get the most municipal taxes out of office towers near the Ayalon transport corridor built in the 1980s and still being developed today. A great recent photo illustrating this can be seen here: link (credit: Avi Gilad, posted Highway401 here on the forum). Ramat Gan is on the left, Tel Aviv is on the right.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Ramat Gan had the upper hand and have more and denser towers, but in the 2010s almost all new towers were built on the Tel Aviv side. In the late 2010s and 2020s, Ramat Gan is starting to come back with a bunch of additions to its skyline.
All images are license under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
==================================
Starting where we left off: As I wrote, Ramat Gan Twins were some of the tallest towers in the city when completed. Since then, the adjacent tower has been built for the Menora insurance company, and puts the twins into perspective. True, there is some perspective distortion, but the new tower is almost twice as tall the the twins.
![]()
Across the street is Matzlawi Elite Tower 1. This large lot, formerly the Elite Chocolate factory, was meant to house Israel's tallest tower once, and was briefly owned (partly) by Donald Trump, where he had hoped to build the tower. The 2008 crisis in the US and other reasons led to the cancellation of such plans, and the lot was split into two, and two towers were further planned on each split piece (4 in total). So far one has been built (Matzlawi Elite 1) and two (called eXchange Ramat Gan) are U/C in the foreground. In the background (right) is HaMatmid Tower 1, of two planned towers.
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Going inside the formerly sleepy neighborhood, we can see more skyscrapers rising. I'm not sure Ramat Gan would actually consent to this, because of the neighborhood's character – but nobody asked them, because the following lots belong to the city of Giv'atayim. Giv'atayim is a city of 60,000 which is nevertheless building Israel's tallest skyscraper (more on that later). Before it we see Hi Tower, a 200 m residential skyscraper. No, it's not the apocalypse, it really looks like this – but with cladding it's supposed to be nicer. On the right is the construction of Rubinstein Estate, an old age home. Rubinstein Estate is nearly all thick concrete, because building regulations require a bomb shelter in each apartment, and the apartments in retirement homes are tiny.
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Hi Tower and HaShahar Tower, together with Beyond, will make up most of "Giv'ayaim City", an enclave of the town sandwiched between Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan.
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Looking south, we can see Midtown Central Business District, a new development between the Ramat Gan cluster, called Diamond Exchange District, and the Sarona/Montefiore cluster in Tel Aviv. The previous post had a photo from the eastern side. Under construction are the We TLV mid-rise (left), and Azrieli Town Residences (right).
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From this vantage point it's also possible to see Beit Lessin Tower, a high-rise of 110 m. Nothing special about it, except that this area of Tel Aviv (the "New North") doesn't have a cluster yet, and towers are scattered around everywhere. The city plan allows it because the Purple Line of the light rail will pass there, but it's still far away and building rights are few. On the left is Remez Tower, also a fairly recent construction.
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Here we come around to the Beyond lot. Beyond is a complex of two skyscrapers by the Tidhar company. One of them will reach a height of 308 m – it will be Israel's first supertall skyscraper. Two others are under construction and will be even taller, but they are very unlikely to top out before this one.
![]()
This concludes part 1 of the walk. I will try to put up two more posts from the same walk – stay tuned.
We will start with Ramat Gan. Ramat Gan's city hall has historically competed with Tel Aviv on who can get the most municipal taxes out of office towers near the Ayalon transport corridor built in the 1980s and still being developed today. A great recent photo illustrating this can be seen here: link (credit: Avi Gilad, posted Highway401 here on the forum). Ramat Gan is on the left, Tel Aviv is on the right.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Ramat Gan had the upper hand and have more and denser towers, but in the 2010s almost all new towers were built on the Tel Aviv side. In the late 2010s and 2020s, Ramat Gan is starting to come back with a bunch of additions to its skyline.
All images are license under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
==================================
Starting where we left off: As I wrote, Ramat Gan Twins were some of the tallest towers in the city when completed. Since then, the adjacent tower has been built for the Menora insurance company, and puts the twins into perspective. True, there is some perspective distortion, but the new tower is almost twice as tall the the twins.
Across the street is Matzlawi Elite Tower 1. This large lot, formerly the Elite Chocolate factory, was meant to house Israel's tallest tower once, and was briefly owned (partly) by Donald Trump, where he had hoped to build the tower. The 2008 crisis in the US and other reasons led to the cancellation of such plans, and the lot was split into two, and two towers were further planned on each split piece (4 in total). So far one has been built (Matzlawi Elite 1) and two (called eXchange Ramat Gan) are U/C in the foreground. In the background (right) is HaMatmid Tower 1, of two planned towers.
Going inside the formerly sleepy neighborhood, we can see more skyscrapers rising. I'm not sure Ramat Gan would actually consent to this, because of the neighborhood's character – but nobody asked them, because the following lots belong to the city of Giv'atayim. Giv'atayim is a city of 60,000 which is nevertheless building Israel's tallest skyscraper (more on that later). Before it we see Hi Tower, a 200 m residential skyscraper. No, it's not the apocalypse, it really looks like this – but with cladding it's supposed to be nicer. On the right is the construction of Rubinstein Estate, an old age home. Rubinstein Estate is nearly all thick concrete, because building regulations require a bomb shelter in each apartment, and the apartments in retirement homes are tiny.
Hi Tower and HaShahar Tower, together with Beyond, will make up most of "Giv'ayaim City", an enclave of the town sandwiched between Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan.
Looking south, we can see Midtown Central Business District, a new development between the Ramat Gan cluster, called Diamond Exchange District, and the Sarona/Montefiore cluster in Tel Aviv. The previous post had a photo from the eastern side. Under construction are the We TLV mid-rise (left), and Azrieli Town Residences (right).
From this vantage point it's also possible to see Beit Lessin Tower, a high-rise of 110 m. Nothing special about it, except that this area of Tel Aviv (the "New North") doesn't have a cluster yet, and towers are scattered around everywhere. The city plan allows it because the Purple Line of the light rail will pass there, but it's still far away and building rights are few. On the left is Remez Tower, also a fairly recent construction.
Here we come around to the Beyond lot. Beyond is a complex of two skyscrapers by the Tidhar company. One of them will reach a height of 308 m – it will be Israel's first supertall skyscraper. Two others are under construction and will be even taller, but they are very unlikely to top out before this one.
This concludes part 1 of the walk. I will try to put up two more posts from the same walk – stay tuned.
7
Lots of pictures in this thread:
Yaffo/Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa is now part of Tel Aviv which is why the city's full name is Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel.
www.skyscrapercity.com
Great, very nice updates from Tel Aviv
Part 2
All images are under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Please give them some time to load and I really hope at least some people read my texts!
Let's go back to the Diamond Exchange District. This used to be Israel's main and only office tower concentration back in the day. As mentioned, it has known better days and has stagnated a bit, but parts of it are being redeveloped, including a planned 120-floor (500+ m) tower.
For now let's start with the southern part. This is actually called the Rishonim neighborhood, but many consider it to be part of the exchange. Right on the western edge is a residential building called Time Tower. From this angle, it covers Amot Atrium Tower, an office building with a huge atrium that I think won some architectural prizes.
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Back to the Elite Junction. Elite Junction is so called because of the Elite Chocolate Factory that used to stand there. It is one of the most high-traffic urban road junctions in Israel, though lately it has seen less because of the light rail construction. From the junction you can see a bunch of buildings, most of them part of the "classic" Diamond Exchange District. One such building is Crystal House, which was a small-ish 9-floor building, until it was expanded to what it is now, at 115 m.
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Also visible is Moshe Aviv Tower, once the tallest building in Israel (more on that later). It stands at 235 m.
![]()
The Diamond Exchange District is not much of a mixed-use area. It's specifically designed for office towers, and therefore not very residential-friendly. However, on its southern edge there are a few residential projects. One of them is Gindi Heights. This project used to really stand out, but now it blends in a bit more. When it was being built, one could buy a home here for ILS 1.3 million (about US $400,000). For the time it seemed like a lot, even though it was affordable for the middle class. Today I am guessing that the same apartment would cost about ILS 5 million, though I haven't checked.
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Further in, there is a side street called HaGilad, on one side of which is this residential complex. It's right next to the towers, but it's actually very quiet – must be a nice place to live. Very expensive too.
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So, about Moshe Aviv Tower... remember I said it was once the tallest, but now it's not? This is actually controversial. As you can see in this picture, the tower extends further down than its main entrance. These are not "underground floors", but just part of the tower building. Counting from this side, the tower is 244 m tall. That would still make it the tallest in Israel today, and at least for 2–3 more years. Not according to CTBUH though, I guess.
![]()
Looking in the opposite direction, one encounters this sight. A bit weird? Slanted? You haven't seen anything yet. It's called One Tower.
![]()
Around the corner is Etzi Square, dedicated to the Jewish resistance in WWII Warsaw. On the right is a mid-rise formerly known as BDB Tower. BDB was a very controversial company that folded, so now it's called HaKikar ("The Square") tower, but the BDB logo remains.
![]()
Sapir Tower is another new addition to the Diamond Exchange District. It looks quite ordinary, but being relatively taller than its surroundings, it can be seen from many vantage points very far away.
![]()
Not far from there is Moda'i Bridge, named after a veteran politician. Underneath it is Tel Aviv Central Railway Station. It's only the second-busiest station in Tel Aviv, and was not built like most major stations around the world. Mostly it was just a very a small structure, plus a series of additions over the years, like more and longer platforms, etc. One of the latest major additions is a new entrance, which they have attached to Moda'i Bridge.
![]()
Gibor Sport House is another office tower that started out lower and was extended in height. This one was done much more elegantly than Crystal House though, in my opinion. It therefore kept its uniqueness among rather different towers in the area.
![]()
Next to it is Ayalon Tower by Tidhar – yet another extension. It was much lower in the past and was heightened quiet seamlessly, though IMO it's a less interesting tower. In any case, this has been the view so far, but soon it won't be available, because another tower is being built in front of it. It's called Icon Tower and will be of a similar height.
![]()
Remember One Tower? This is what it looks like from the side. Here you can see how absolutely insane it will look.
![]()
Another view of Sapir Tower, from its less slim side. Someone on the Israel Forum commented that it's like a communist poster: "buildings for millionaires" in the back, crumbling "industrial" buildings in the middle, and temporary residences for the proletariat in the front. Actually the caravans in the front are for temporary laborers – mostly Chinese workers who are building the light rail.
![]()
Finally: a general view of Diamond Exchange District that you don't see every day. Everyone takes pictures from the southwestern side, but that point of view has become less interesting nowadays, in my opinion. Here is a view from the north, that you won't usually see.
![]()
I hope Part 2 was interesting!
All images are under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Please give them some time to load
and I really hope at least some people read my texts!Let's go back to the Diamond Exchange District. This used to be Israel's main and only office tower concentration back in the day. As mentioned, it has known better days and has stagnated a bit, but parts of it are being redeveloped, including a planned 120-floor (500+ m) tower.
For now let's start with the southern part. This is actually called the Rishonim neighborhood, but many consider it to be part of the exchange. Right on the western edge is a residential building called Time Tower. From this angle, it covers Amot Atrium Tower, an office building with a huge atrium that I think won some architectural prizes.
Back to the Elite Junction. Elite Junction is so called because of the Elite Chocolate Factory that used to stand there. It is one of the most high-traffic urban road junctions in Israel, though lately it has seen less because of the light rail construction. From the junction you can see a bunch of buildings, most of them part of the "classic" Diamond Exchange District. One such building is Crystal House, which was a small-ish 9-floor building, until it was expanded to what it is now, at 115 m.
Also visible is Moshe Aviv Tower, once the tallest building in Israel (more on that later). It stands at 235 m.
The Diamond Exchange District is not much of a mixed-use area. It's specifically designed for office towers, and therefore not very residential-friendly. However, on its southern edge there are a few residential projects. One of them is Gindi Heights. This project used to really stand out, but now it blends in a bit more. When it was being built, one could buy a home here for ILS 1.3 million (about US $400,000). For the time it seemed like a lot, even though it was affordable for the middle class. Today I am guessing that the same apartment would cost about ILS 5 million, though I haven't checked.
Further in, there is a side street called HaGilad, on one side of which is this residential complex. It's right next to the towers, but it's actually very quiet – must be a nice place to live. Very expensive too.
So, about Moshe Aviv Tower... remember I said it was once the tallest, but now it's not? This is actually controversial. As you can see in this picture, the tower extends further down than its main entrance. These are not "underground floors", but just part of the tower building. Counting from this side, the tower is 244 m tall. That would still make it the tallest in Israel today, and at least for 2–3 more years. Not according to CTBUH though, I guess.
Looking in the opposite direction, one encounters this sight. A bit weird? Slanted? You haven't seen anything yet. It's called One Tower.
Around the corner is Etzi Square, dedicated to the Jewish resistance in WWII Warsaw. On the right is a mid-rise formerly known as BDB Tower. BDB was a very controversial company that folded, so now it's called HaKikar ("The Square") tower, but the BDB logo remains.
Sapir Tower is another new addition to the Diamond Exchange District. It looks quite ordinary, but being relatively taller than its surroundings, it can be seen from many vantage points very far away.
Not far from there is Moda'i Bridge, named after a veteran politician. Underneath it is Tel Aviv Central Railway Station. It's only the second-busiest station in Tel Aviv, and was not built like most major stations around the world. Mostly it was just a very a small structure, plus a series of additions over the years, like more and longer platforms, etc. One of the latest major additions is a new entrance, which they have attached to Moda'i Bridge.
Gibor Sport House is another office tower that started out lower and was extended in height. This one was done much more elegantly than Crystal House though, in my opinion. It therefore kept its uniqueness among rather different towers in the area.
Next to it is Ayalon Tower by Tidhar – yet another extension. It was much lower in the past and was heightened quiet seamlessly, though IMO it's a less interesting tower. In any case, this has been the view so far, but soon it won't be available, because another tower is being built in front of it. It's called Icon Tower and will be of a similar height.
Remember One Tower? This is what it looks like from the side. Here you can see how absolutely insane it will look.
Another view of Sapir Tower, from its less slim side. Someone on the Israel Forum commented that it's like a communist poster: "buildings for millionaires" in the back, crumbling "industrial" buildings in the middle, and temporary residences for the proletariat in the front. Actually the caravans in the front are for temporary laborers – mostly Chinese workers who are building the light rail.
Finally: a general view of Diamond Exchange District that you don't see every day. Everyone takes pictures from the southwestern side, but that point of view has become less interesting nowadays, in my opinion. Here is a view from the north, that you won't usually see.
I hope Part 2 was interesting!
15
Part 3
Final part of this walk.
All photos are licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Let's turn back to Tel Aviv. To the northwest is the Bavli neighborhood. Back in the day, Israel "temporarily" housed some Jewish refugees here, then on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. They lived in shacks or small houses for decades, and the temporary became permanent. However, land ownership was never transferred and they were sort of considered squatters, because (I guess?) it was assumed that they would move out. However, why would anyone move out from such an advantageous location? When developers swooped in, the residents were offered compensation, but the sum was extremely low, maybe 1/10 of what a legal tenant would get. There was a big scandal, and even today part of Bavli is still inhabited by the descendants of these refugees. Another part is being developed.
One tower has already been built (Park Bavli 1), and two are under construction.
Park Bavli is a complex that will consist of 4–6 identical (or at least similar) towers.
![]()
The other tower U/C right now is Bavli Beresheet (Genesis), and this should have another accompanying tower next to it eventually.
![]()
Together, from another angle.
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On the other side of the road is Park Tzameret (translated as Summit Park). As mentioned in a previous post, this is an affluent "gated community" inhabited by many celebrities and people who want private lives. However, the project has attracted some big-name designers and from the outside it looks quite nice. It has many towers but speaks one architectural language.
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Two of the nicest buildings in the complex are Yoo Towers, designed by Philippe Starck.
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Another is Manhattan Tower. From this angle it looks meh I guess, but I didn't have time to go inside the neighborhood to take pictures.
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The tallest tower in Park Tzameret is called Rom Tel Aviv, and it's in the final stages of construction. It's a small deviation from the style of the others, but it's not overall terrible.
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Finally, across from Park Tzameret, there is the original "Tzameret", in the form of Tzameret Towers. These are a bunch of other names, like Akirov Towers and Alrov Towers. These were built when the big neighborhood was only in the planning stages, and they stand alone among lowrises. These towers have large apartments for the very rich, and Ehud Barak (former Israeli PM) was a resident. He was roundly criticized for this because he was an extremely wealthy individual, but led the Labor Party (ostensibly a working class party). He subsequently sold his apartment there, but bought another very expensive one.
The developer also had to build a park next to the towers. They did, but made it deliberately hard to access. It is built on a mound, and access is only from the southern side.
![]()
Hopefully you have enjoyed this relatively shorter Part 3. This concludes the photo walk from July 2021.
Final part of this walk.
All photos are licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Let's turn back to Tel Aviv. To the northwest is the Bavli neighborhood. Back in the day, Israel "temporarily" housed some Jewish refugees here, then on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. They lived in shacks or small houses for decades, and the temporary became permanent. However, land ownership was never transferred and they were sort of considered squatters, because (I guess?) it was assumed that they would move out. However, why would anyone move out from such an advantageous location? When developers swooped in, the residents were offered compensation, but the sum was extremely low, maybe 1/10 of what a legal tenant would get. There was a big scandal, and even today part of Bavli is still inhabited by the descendants of these refugees. Another part is being developed.
One tower has already been built (Park Bavli 1), and two are under construction.
Park Bavli is a complex that will consist of 4–6 identical (or at least similar) towers.
The other tower U/C right now is Bavli Beresheet (Genesis), and this should have another accompanying tower next to it eventually.
Together, from another angle.
On the other side of the road is Park Tzameret (translated as Summit Park). As mentioned in a previous post, this is an affluent "gated community" inhabited by many celebrities and people who want private lives. However, the project has attracted some big-name designers and from the outside it looks quite nice. It has many towers but speaks one architectural language.
Two of the nicest buildings in the complex are Yoo Towers, designed by Philippe Starck.
Another is Manhattan Tower. From this angle it looks meh I guess, but I didn't have time to go inside the neighborhood to take pictures.
The tallest tower in Park Tzameret is called Rom Tel Aviv, and it's in the final stages of construction. It's a small deviation from the style of the others, but it's not overall terrible.
Finally, across from Park Tzameret, there is the original "Tzameret", in the form of Tzameret Towers. These are a bunch of other names, like Akirov Towers and Alrov Towers. These were built when the big neighborhood was only in the planning stages, and they stand alone among lowrises. These towers have large apartments for the very rich, and Ehud Barak (former Israeli PM) was a resident. He was roundly criticized for this because he was an extremely wealthy individual, but led the Labor Party (ostensibly a working class party). He subsequently sold his apartment there, but bought another very expensive one.
The developer also had to build a park next to the towers. They did, but made it deliberately hard to access. It is built on a mound, and access is only from the southern side.
Hopefully you have enjoyed this relatively shorter Part 3. This concludes the photo walk from July 2021.
8
Great, very nice updates from Tel Aviv
Thanks, I was wondering if anyone was reading the text! Hope more people read it, don't think the pictures alone would mean much to those not familiar with the city
The problem with the skyscraper count in Tel Aviv is that all of the major sites/orgs, like CTBUH and Emporis, count every city in the metropolitan as separate. On its own that's fine, but it's not really fair when comparing to other cities in the world, which are not fragmented (except Vancouver). Currently Tel Aviv proper has only 20-ish skyscrapers (150+ m) and 80-ish 100+ m high-rises. However, the entire metropolitan has 35 skyscrapers (and 33 more U/C right now), and around 200 buildings of 100+ m. As far as I know, by 2030 the metropolitan will have over 500 buildings above 100 m, which would put it in the top 10 in the world, I think
We would like to see more updates from Tel Aviv
OK so I wasn't able to do a photo walk (the weather insists on being bad every time I can do it), but I was able to fly closer to home.
Welcome to Petah Tikva. It used to be a small working-class town on the eastern side of the metropolitan, but now it's a middle-class city of over 250,000.
Petah Tikva is the butt of many jokes inside Israel, and the only claim to fame I can think of is that John Kerry couldn't pronounce it after 3 tries on live television (that and the famous local Jem's brewery). Also it's the first new locality built by Jews in Israel for over a thousand years, so that's something.
However, Petah Tikva consistently ranks at one of the city in Israel with the highest positive migration, i.e. real people are voting with their feet and moving here. The existing city plan envisions 400,000 residents, and this is achievable within 20 years or so.
Maybe I'll open a separate thread about Petah Tikva in the future, but since it's part of the metropolitan, I don't think it's an issue to cover it here.
As one might expect from the above description, the city has a mix of old and poor, and new and upscale neighborhoods, sometimes one next to the other.
Here are some pictures from my recent flights.
First some individual projects. This is Ein Ganim, frankly not the best neighborhood in town. However, it is probably being renewed faster than any other, for a reason unclear to me. These towers are called Tzameret Ein Ganim (lit. Ein Ganim Summit).
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About a half-hour walk from there is the Petah Tikva Market. The market is one of the most famous in Israel, especially due to its relative authenticity – besides quality of life improvements, like a roof, the place hasn't changed for decades. At some point, someone decided to build overground parking on top of it with two towers. Construction only finished recently, but this has probably been approved over 20 years ago, so it follows a very car-centric ideal. Still, it doesn't feel out of place on the ground level.
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Not far from it is another couple of towers being built, called The Baron Towers, as far as I know (after the baron Rothschild).
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Let's move on to some general pictures.
Here is the skyline of Tel Aviv in the far background. In the middle is Jabotinsky Road, one of the most important city roads in Israel. To its right is Neve Gan, a relatively new and upscale neighborhood. To the left is Ramat Verber, a relatively old and poorer neighborhood, but it's all slated for E-B. It's going to be one of the biggest E-B schemes in Israel, with over 30 towers (unfortunately not many of those will be 100+ m, but a few will be). Of the towers you see in the picture on the right side, two are just over 100 m. Slightly further down, on the left, you see Global Towers and BSR City, five new skyscrapers just completed in Petah Tikva. The grey building just before them is the new hospital wing, which has been under construction forever.
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Here are two (three?) more neighborhoods: Krol in the foreground, and New Hadar HaMoshavot in the background, with all the towers. Gentrification is planned within the scope of this picture too, but it will take time.
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That's it for the current Petah Tikva overview.
Welcome to Petah Tikva. It used to be a small working-class town on the eastern side of the metropolitan, but now it's a middle-class city of over 250,000.
Petah Tikva is the butt of many jokes inside Israel, and the only claim to fame I can think of is that John Kerry couldn't pronounce it after 3 tries on live television (that and the famous local Jem's brewery). Also it's the first new locality built by Jews in Israel for over a thousand years, so that's something.
However, Petah Tikva consistently ranks at one of the city in Israel with the highest positive migration, i.e. real people are voting with their feet and moving here. The existing city plan envisions 400,000 residents, and this is achievable within 20 years or so.
Maybe I'll open a separate thread about Petah Tikva in the future, but since it's part of the metropolitan, I don't think it's an issue to cover it here.
As one might expect from the above description, the city has a mix of old and poor, and new and upscale neighborhoods, sometimes one next to the other.
Here are some pictures from my recent flights.
First some individual projects. This is Ein Ganim, frankly not the best neighborhood in town. However, it is probably being renewed faster than any other, for a reason unclear to me. These towers are called Tzameret Ein Ganim (lit. Ein Ganim Summit).
About a half-hour walk from there is the Petah Tikva Market. The market is one of the most famous in Israel, especially due to its relative authenticity – besides quality of life improvements, like a roof, the place hasn't changed for decades. At some point, someone decided to build overground parking on top of it with two towers. Construction only finished recently, but this has probably been approved over 20 years ago, so it follows a very car-centric ideal. Still, it doesn't feel out of place on the ground level.
Not far from it is another couple of towers being built, called The Baron Towers, as far as I know (after the baron Rothschild).
Let's move on to some general pictures.
Here is the skyline of Tel Aviv in the far background. In the middle is Jabotinsky Road, one of the most important city roads in Israel. To its right is Neve Gan, a relatively new and upscale neighborhood. To the left is Ramat Verber, a relatively old and poorer neighborhood, but it's all slated for E-B. It's going to be one of the biggest E-B schemes in Israel, with over 30 towers (unfortunately not many of those will be 100+ m, but a few will be). Of the towers you see in the picture on the right side, two are just over 100 m. Slightly further down, on the left, you see Global Towers and BSR City, five new skyscrapers just completed in Petah Tikva. The grey building just before them is the new hospital wing, which has been under construction forever.
Here are two (three?) more neighborhoods: Krol in the foreground, and New Hadar HaMoshavot in the background, with all the towers. Gentrification is planned within the scope of this picture too, but it will take time.
That's it for the current Petah Tikva overview.
5
Great, very nice updates from Tel Aviv
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