Sometimes the debate over which is better, a private house with a garden and lawn or an easy-to-maintain residential apartment, is decided by a winning solution that combines an apartment with the privacy of a house in a residential complex. This was the idea conceived by architect Ram Karmi for a large plot of land in Herzliya Pituach on the corner of Medinat HaYehudim and Yehoshua Ben Nun streets.
The 7.5-dunam plot is within easy walking distance to the seafront, Accadia Beach, allowed the construction of the special complex called ‘Rosemarine House’ or ‘Rosemarine Court’. The choice of name is by the way random, it was the name of the company in the law firm that handled the purchase of the land and obtained the building permits for it. It later turned out that the name did indeed fit the area of Marine we were seafaring, and at the entrance to the project beautiful rosemary bushes were planted.
Rami Karmi (Z”L) was an Israel Prize-winning architect who received many compliments for his work such as the planning of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem (together with his sister Ada Karmi-Melamede), but also received critical reviews for his other works. Karmi was a genius in concept design, in the division of space into areas. Thus he conceived the idea of a Mediterranean courtyard that has apartments on either side of a central courtyard with a swimming pool and lawn. He saw the way Arab, clan families, gather around one yard shared by three generations of the same family, and enjoy the benefits of a certain sharing in the yard and the privacy of each family in its own home. In the ancient traditional courtyard the families would receive the water supply from the same well for example. We have pictures of wives hanging the laundry together, baking in the same oven etc., where sharing gives everyone a sense of security and belonging, and also company of course.
The design of Rosemarine Court’ is for 16 residential units, half of which are garden apartments built on the ground level and half of them penthouses built above them, 8 units on the west side of the lot and 8 units on the east side of the lot. On the other two sides, arcades – long corridors – were built that connect the residential units to a square, a symmetrical structure, which allows a covered and protected passage from one side of the complex to the other. The arcades were built with arches, an element that is repeated in the design of the windows of the building and enhances the magical look similar to a courtyard in Morocco. Inside the main courtyard there is a large lawn with Israeli citrus trees as well as flower beds for planting seasonal flowers. There is also a swimming pool in the yard that is available to the 16 families living in the complex. The size of each unit is 250 square meters or more. Additional public areas are the level of the parking lot as well as the roof areas on which the air conditioning engines are placed.
In addition to the residential apartments, a small apartment was built that is available to the superintendent, who maintains ‘Rosemarine Court’ and cares for everything related to the public areas of the project.
The apartments are completely private registered in the Israel Land Registry, privately owned for all intents and purposes. The advantage is: a large apartment, garden apartment or penthouse, which has direct access to the garden, lawn and large swimming pool without the need to invest time and attention in maintaining these areas. The complex itself is surrounded by an arcade that has one entrance gate so that the residences are safe and protected from passers-by or uninvited guests. Between Rosemarine Court and Medinat HaYehudim Street, there is a garden with arches with bougainvillea bushes with bright colored flowers. The yard is thus isolated from street and road noise and is a beautiful and prestigious compound.
The design of the apartments was done by Ram Karmi on the assumption that an apartment is a mysterious place, which should be revealed to the visitor gradually, an element of surprise during the visit. That is, Karmi did not design an apartment plan in one open space that is revealed to the visitor at first glance. In the penthouses on the east side, Karmi changed the design and created living rooms with a particularly high ceiling space, with a glass skylight definitely a surprising element in the apartment. The finishing materials chosen for the construction of the arcades and apartments are natural finishing materials such as travertine marble, round support columns made of travertine and arches made of stone. The green grass and colors of seasonal flowers contrast with the light marble.
The large apartments attract non-resident buyers who are interested in living in Israel part of the year, they enjoy that the ‘Rosemarine Court is very safe and its maintenance is the responsibility of the superintendent.. Israelis who understand or have experienced maintaining a private home with a swimming pool and a garden – are also potential buyers for a unit in Rosemarine Court.