Exterior restoration and cladding of the “ Opera “ Tower in Tel-Aviv shoreline

Project Description

A complex project to rehabilitate and renovate the facade of the famous Opera Tower on Tel Aviv’s seashore
The iconic Opera Tower was erected on what were the San Remo cinema and the Kesem cinema buildings that were used in their second incarnation as the seat of the first Knesset before it moved to Jerusalem in 1949. In their last form, the buildings were used as the first home of the Israeli Opera, the name Opera Tower. The old buildings were demolished in 1988. The new tower was designed by architect Abraham Yaski and was inaugurated in 1993. The architectural remnants of the old Kesem cinema building is evident in the line of the triangular openings leading to the sea.
Over the years, the granite masonry enveloping the building underwent massive disintegration as a result of penetration of salts (chlorides and sulfates) into the slabs. Therefore, it was decided early in 2019 to carry out a project for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the tower’s facade. The initial phase includes controlled demolition of the old granite slabs for a thorough restoration of the facades and the concrete skeleton, installation of a new sealing system for the tower windows, and in the final stage, application of a molded rigid aluminum cladding.