One of the most challenging tasks for an architect is renovating old apartments. When approaching such a renovation, we face many constraints:
The construction of the apartment:
In almost every old apartment we come across existing concrete pillars. Usually they will stand exactly where we don’t want them….However, we will always try to avoid changing the constructive structure of the house, and therefore we will adapt the new design to the existing columns.
It is important to remember that the construction methods of the past are different from the way we build today, and engineering and architectural understanding is required to understand these methods, so we can design with them and not against them.
Outdated design:
Old-fashioned layouts:
In the past, the interior design of apartments was different from what it is today. For example, there is often a separate, which is often tiny and dark, or separate rooms for bathroom and toilet. Today, on the other hand, the kitchen is usually the center of the public space, and inside every bathroom there is also a toilet. Planning a contemporary apartment renovation will require adapting the apartment to the modern lifestyle, besides preserving its old charm.
Outdated electricity, water, drainage, communication and air conditioning systems:
In contrast to planning a new apartment, where we can integrate all of these systems as we wish, in renovating old apartments we must take into account the location of the old systems, even if we replace them. This requires technical understanding and experience.
Windows:
In apartments located in condominiums, it is usually not possible to change the position and size of the windows. Therefore, it is necessary to take them into consideration when redesigning the apartment.
Architectural planning – as in any project:
In addition to this, planning the renovation of an old house will take into account all the usual elements of quality architectural planning: consideration of the wishes and dreams of the homeowners, optimal utilization of the spaces, consideration of the environment, and control of the budget.
Here are some examples of old apartments we renovated.
(The small pictures show the situation before the renovation, and the big ones – what we were able to turn them into)
Apartment in Herzliya:
In the “before” picture you can see the existing column, which we did not remove. We preferred to turn it into a design element. You can also see the old windows, which we could not change – we just treated them so that they fit the needs of the new tenants.
Apartment in Tel Aviv:
This is an apartment in a house in the Bauhaus style, which we renovated from the ground up. We threw away the plastic shutters from the existing balcony, and replaced them with Belgian profile windows to create a beautiful, open space under the treetops.
Renovating a new apartment allows us to choose any finishing material we want. When renovating an old apartment, it is worthwhile and desirable to allude to what was here before. In this apartment we created a large pattern in the center of the public space from the old flooring of the apartment.
Apartment in a small neighborhood in Tel Aviv:
The renovation planning of this old house did not include the demolition of walls, but only small changes in the wall between the kitchen and the living room in the seize of the kitchen window (here it was possible).
In planning the new kitchen and with the help of new colors and finishing materials, we were able to give a different and fresh atmosphere.
דOld apartment in Tel Aviv:
A closed, small and dark kitchen became a modern unit open to the public space.
A house in Ramat Hasharon:
This home renovation included small changes to the structure, but the most significant thing we did was to change the color of the dark ceiling – something that completely changed the atmosphere of the house.