Tal and Gidi Bar Orian established Bar Orian Architects in 1990.
Since then, with over 50 employees, Bar Orian Architects has become one of the leaders of urban renewal in Tel Aviv – Jaffa.
Our work in preservation, structural additions, and integrating new construction into existing structures has created an architectural volume with a significant mark on the city. This work can be seen as a the delicate weaving which incorporates an understanding of the city’s architectural history, and resulting in an ongoing dialogue between periods and styles of the past, present, and future of our urban space.
A variety of strategies is used for creating the encounter between old and new. These range from assimilation into an existing language to an emphasis and juxtaposition of differences through contrast and complement. Every step is taken with care and respect of the city’s aging cultural riches, which are revived and returned to the cycle of city life, while expressing the past and adapting it to the needs of the present. Among the many Bar Orian Architects urban renewal projects are the residences at 3 Strauss Street, 79-81 Rothschild Boulevard, 4 Ein Vered Street, 7 Feirberg Street, 23 Geula Street, and 26 Haneviim Street. Work is in progress on many other buildings, among them 84 Ahad Aaam and 85 Rothschild Boulevard.
Alongside structural additions and preservation, we are busy planning and constructing new residential buildings. These new structures provide a look at the development of the architectural language that is unique to Bar Orian Architects. Among these are the residential building at 14 Najara Street that was recently awarded The Design Award, another residential building, at 3 Azar Street in Ramat Hasharon, and the office building at 32 Hamasger Street.
In a seeming contradiction to the delicate work with the urban tapestry, Bar Orian Architects designs pedestrian bridges. However, there is no real contradiction here, as the bridges involve careful weaving of the new element into the existing cityscape, being and sensitive to the landscape, attentive to details, and mindful of clean composition. Among the bridges we designed are the Wokop Bridge, Exhibition Grounds Bridge, and the new Maccabia Bridge, all of which were also awarded The Design Award, and the recently opened Reading Bridge, a focal point in the development of the Tel Aviv promenade and the northern beaches of the city.
In recent Bar Orian Architects has expanded its undertakings to larger projects which allow a deeper examination of additional typologies which greatly impact the cityscape. Among these are G Towers Tel Aviv, a residential building on Antolkolski Street, Jerusalem Hotel, the Quarter Compound in Jaffa, and an interns’ area in the Technion in Haifa. Many other project are in the planning, such as the Hassan Araffa Compound, the Levontin Compound (Phoenix House), and the Lev Levontin Project (Beit Hakablan).
Our desire to integrate into the urban tapestry using a newly developed architectural language, combined with our many projects, led us to move on and specialize in urban construction through preparing new urban planning programs for city lots and areas. Because of our leadership position in preservation we have pioneered urban planning programs for mobilizing rights for buildings, and for plans that integrate new construction with buildings that are to be preserved. Examples of such programs, from a single-lot plan at 6 Balfour Street and Zamenhof, to more complex plans integrating buildings for preservation with new buildings such as 4-6 Trumpeldor Street, Jerusalem Hotel, Ziporen House, 62-64-66 Rothschild Street, 8 Angel Street, and the Pittman School.
Bar Orian Architects has also seized the opportunity to work on new construction adding to the urban tapestry. Among these newest projects are The Zion Gate, 56 Hakovshim Street, and 6-8 Wisotsky Street.