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Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

Tel Aviv architect Ron Fleisher has designed a house in an Israeli-Arab village that combines traditional Palestinian and Islamic architecture with modernism.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

The facade features Arabic mashrabiya lattice screens and vents at the top of the house allow breezes to circulate.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

The house is entered through a double-height vaulted entrance hall, based on a traditional liwan, around which the private areas of the house are arranged.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

The Agbaria House is located on a steep hillside in the village of Musmus in the Haifa district of Israel.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

More projects in Israel on Dezeen »

Photography is by Shai Epstein.

Here are some more details from Fleisher:


Agbaria House

In a region where cultures usually clash, the house over the "wadi"(valley) in the village Musmus is a multicultural experience.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

A cooperation between clients that asked for a contemporary architecture, but didn't want to forget the memory of the village they grew up in, and an architectural firm based in Tel Aviv created a reinterpretation of Palestinian architecture.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

The plan combines between traditional spaces, as the "liwan"- the entrance hall, and contemporary needs, as a TV room, and a formal dinning area.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

It reflects the will to keep an independent Palestinian identity within the Israeli society.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

The house is located on the top of a hillside overlooking "wadi ara". The main entrance to the property is more than 17 meters down the slope.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

Between the gate and main house a driveway curves in a reconstructed agricultural landscape.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

The slope was divided with traditional terraces made from local stone collected in the families olive grove.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

The driveway surrounds the white barn, a staircase climbs to the top of the building to a wide balcony viewing the valley and welcoming the vistor into the private living area.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

Click above for larger image

The house is in a dialogue with the natural landscape using classical Muslim elements as well as contemporary technology.

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

Click above for larger image

The entrance glass wall facing south is shaded with an interpretation of a "Mashrabiya".

Agbaria House by Ron Fleisher Architects

Click above for larger image

The "liwan" is ventilated with passive suction through shutters located on top of 3 vaults 8 meters high. The hot air is sucked out and replaced by a cool breeze. The main drawing room and the formal dining room open to a walled garden, colorfully framed by the white volumes.

Landscape design is by Kfir Fisher.