Go Inside Architect Oshir Asaban’s Mid-Century Penthouse in Israel

Owned and designed by architect Oshir Asaban, the penthouse takes cues from the mid-century modern movement, featuring classic decor and a rich and natural material palette.

“As an architect, when you design a home for yourself, you want it to represent yourself with all the architectural elements you like, try out all the details you didn't implement in clients’ projects,” recalls architect Oshir Asaban. “Like a kind of showroom stunning enough to introduce my clients to.”

Home to Asaban and his partner and their toy poodle dog, the high-rise apartment in Tel-Aviv, Israel, spreads over 1,938 square feet, with an open-plan layout bringing in as much light into the house as possible, along with a light, calm palette of natural materials.

Asaban is clear he doesn’t want closed spaces from the get go: “The way we behave at home is that when one of us is working and the other is cooking, we want to be in eye contact with each other.” In lieu of standard doors (except for the bathrooms), large partitions move around and function in the house as walls, allowing the couple to close up certain areas when needed.

“I plan my home in frames, just like a photographer does,” says Asaban. There’re a living and dining area, two large terraces, a study/guest room, and the main bedroom that features a walk-in closet and a bathroom.

Why mid-century? “I really love mid-century design. There are many custom-designed elements such as the bookshelves in the living room, the desk in the bedroom and the dressers in the study. They give the feeling of history,” says the architect.

Out on the balcony, Asaban says he wanted to “craftthe feeling of a private house and create a real garden there. This is a place where you forget that you are in a tower at the heart of an urban city.”

Photo: Sivan Askayo

Architect Oshir Asaban