ST5 Residence | MGA | Meirav Galan Architect

Located in a 1960s building in Tel Aviv, Meirav Galan Architect (MGA) has designed a 125-sqm apartment for a couple and their young children, who lived in a nearby building and searched for a larger apartment in the area.

Prior to the renovation, the dilapidated apartment had three bedrooms and a lot of bulky furniture and wooden cabinets that covered most of the walls and even blocked passages and windows. The full potential of the space became apparent only after its complete evacuation. A list of needs was then prepared.

 “I wanted to create a place that would allow one to disconnect from the hustle outside,” explains the Architect, “Providing a sense of refined serenity for those who would now call this place home and to anyone visits them. This, alongside the constant desire to fulfill my clients’ dreams and to formulate the ultimate architectural plan.”

The old apartment was completely transformed, all its internal walls were demolished in favor of a new plan, the old windows and blinds were fully replaced, as were the infrastructure and electrical installations. New air conditioning units were discreetly placed, and unique lighting design was implemented for the new spaces.

The design includes an open-plan living space comprising the kitchen, dining, and living areas that benefits from a wide window and natural light, alongside curated lighting fixtures, enabling the creation of different atmospheres. Three children's rooms (for a girl and twin boys) are planned with a shared bathroom and a connecting passage behind the kitchen.

The twins' rooms are connected by a double sliding door, providing them with a sense of one large children's room, when open, and of privacy when closed. Each children's room includes a custom-designed furniture unit with a wardrobe, open shelves, and a study table with integrated overhead lighting. The parents' en-suite bedroom is secluded from the children's area. It includes a bathroom and a walk-in closet, separated from it by an iron and glass partition that extends from side to side.

Using natural materials and a muted color palette, while optimizing the advantages of the natural light enveloping the apartment, laid the foundation for a gentle minimalist design that instills the expected feelings of calmness and tranquility into the space. This design strikes a delicate balance between minimalism and cleanliness on one hand, and warmth and softness on the other. The simplicity is elevated by focal points, such as the floor-to-ceiling wooden entrance door, the “Taj Mahal” stone in the kitchen, and various design and art elements in deep, earthy tones.

The entire apartment is harmonized with a natural oak parquet featuring diverse lengths and widths. The parents' bathroom features handcrafted pink-toned zellige tiles, while the children's bathroom displays vibrant terrazzo tiles and an encompassing design with a playful motif of vertical stripes found in the wall tiles, glass shower texture, and lighting fixture.

"I always say that I take my clients' dreams and mix them with mine.” Meirav sums. “It happened here too, and the satisfaction is double."