About Liebling Haus - The White City Center 

Liebling Haus - The White City Center was co-founded by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and the German government in a historical and cultural crossroad at the heart of Tel Aviv. The Center’s mission is to promote architecture, conservation, and urban development, focusing on modern architecture. The Liebling Haus serves as an urban hub for the community, fostering local and international dialogue and cooperation in the fields of conservation and architecture research, professional training, and knowledge.

 

In 2003, UNESCO declared the heart of Tel Aviv as a World Heritage Site, joining five other modernist Heritage Sites worldwide. The White City Center was founded in recognition of Tel Aviv’s outstanding architectural landscape, an exceptional urban texture consisting of over 4,000 international style buildings - an unparalleled global phenomenon.

 

The Liebling Haus is a listed building located on 29 Idelson Street, a 1930s modernist icon and one of several historical buildings constructed around Bialik Square, once the beating heart of Tel Aviv. Commissioned by Tony and Max Liebling in 1936, it was designed by architect Dov Karmi and engineer Tzvi Barak. With its perfect adaptation to local climate and distinct international style characteristics, the house is entirely different from the heavily decorated home of poet Haim Nachman Bialik, located around the corner.

 

The Liebling Haus hosts multidisciplinary exhibitions and lectures by local and international speakers. In addition to a permanent exhibition introducing the White City, the building features galleries, workspaces, a research lab, a cafe, and an ecological garden inspired by the Garden City and hosts various public events, guided tours, and workshops.

 

Visitors of this paragon of international style residential building can feel the unique character of the vernacular architecture developed in Tel Aviv-Yafo. Despite its new function as a public building, the original layout of the apartments was mostly preserved, revealing authentic materials and details that invite visitors to experience history. The Liebling Haus Audio App tells the story of the building, its residents, and the preservation process, offering additional layers of knowledge and information.

 

Interacting with the extensive, ever-changing content dedicated to urban architecture and conservation,  visitors can explore modernist architecture heritage through a contemporary-historical perspective.

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The Liebling Haus Team

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CEO & Artistic Director: Shira Levy-Benyemini 

Program Director & Head of the Research Lab: Arch. Sharon Golan

Senior Curator: Arch. Sabrina Cegla 

Director & Curator of the Education Program: Arch. Eran Eizenhamer 

Program Manager: Moran Navon

Urban Sustainable Program Director: Arch. Anat Levy

Producer of the Education Program: Maya Kremer

Community & Hosting Manager: Miki Simon

Administrative Manager: Dalit Simhoni Bar

Marketing & Advertising Manager: Anat Ran

Social Media Manager: Moran Shambar 

Operation Manager: Liav Levi

Photographer: Yael Schmidt

 

The German Team

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Clemens Haury, Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB)

Project Manager: Ellen Kugler, Federal Construction Agency Rhineland-Palatinate

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German members of the Board of Trustees

Sören Bartol (Chair), Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction

Professor Dr. Guido Spars, Founding Director of the Federal Building Academy Foundation, Berlin

Dr. Herlind Gundelach, Senator (ret.), Hamburg

Susanne Haus, President of the Chamber of Skilled Crafts Frankfurt-Rhein-Main

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Israeli members of the Board of Trustees

Udi Carmely (Chair), City Engineer, Tel Aviv Municipality
 
Revial Ben-Asher-Peretz, Curator and artist
 
Dr. Hila Oren, C.E.O of the Tel Aviv Foundation
 
Arch. Erez Ella

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Renovation‭ ‬&‭ ‬Conservation‭ ‬

 

Project management‭ - ‬Tel Aviv Foundation‭: ‬Shlomo Dagan‭ 

‬Project Architect‭: ‬Arch‭. ‬Rivka Karmi‭, ‬Ada Karmi architects‭

Interior Design‭: ‬Arch‭. ‬Dan Hasson‭, ‬Arch‭. ‬Yonathan Cohen‭ 

‬Contractor‭: ‬Arco Conservation&Restoration ltd‭. ‬Yotam Carmeli‭, ‬Tali Ollech-Eyal‭, ‬Ran‭ ‬Shapira‭

‬Conservation Advisor‭: ‬Arch‭. ‬Winfried Brenne‭ 

‬The conservation survey of the Liebling Haus‭: ‬Arch‭. ‬Winfried Brenne‭, ‬Arch‭. ‬Tal Eyal

Conservation Architect on behalf of Liebling Haus: Sharon Golan-Yaron

The Liebling Garden‭ ‬Design‭, ‬construction‭ ‬&‭ ‬maintenance‭: ‬CityTree‭ ‬&‭ ‬Onya Collective‭ 

‬Irrigation System‭: ‬Netafim Germany