Azrieli Center (; ''Merkaz Azrieli'') is a complex of three skyscrapers in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. At the base of the complex lies a large

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

. The complex was designed by Israeli-American architect Eli Attia. After Attia and the developer of the complex David Azrieli (after whom it is named) fell out, completion of the project was passed on to the Tel Aviv firm of Moore Yaski Sivan Architects.

Site

The Azrieli Center is located on a site in

, Israel, which was previously used as Tel Aviv's dumpster-truck parking garage. The tower cost $420 million to build.

Circular Tower

The Azrieli Center Circular Tower is the tallest of the three towers, measuring in height. Construction of this tower began in 1996 and was completed in 1999. The tower has 49 floors, making it at the time of its construction the tallest building in Tel Aviv, only to be surpassed by the Moshe Aviv Tower in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

in 2001. The top floor has an indoor observation deck and a high-end restaurant, and the 48th floor is home to Mr. Azrieli's personal office. Each floor of the Circular Tower has 84 windows, giving the tower more than 4,000 windows. The tower's perimeter is ; its diameter is . Each floor covers . On October 31, 2003, the first annual Azrieli Circular Tower run-up competition was held, in which the participants ran up the 1,144 stairs to the tower's roof. Winners of the contest had the chance to participate in the following year's

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

run-up competition in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Triangular Tower

The Azrieli Center Triangular Tower has a height of . Construction of this tower, like the circular tower, began in 1996 and was completed in 1999. It has 46 floors and its main occupant is

Bezeq Bezeq () is an Israeli telecommunications company. Bezeq and its subsidiaries offer a range of telecom services, including fixed-line, mobile telephony, high-speed Internet, transmission, and pay TV (via Yes (Israel), Yes). The company is tra ...

, Israel's largest telecommunications company; Bezeq occupies 13 floors of the tower. The tower's cross-section is an

equilateral triangle An equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides have the same length, and all three angles are equal. Because of these properties, the equilateral triangle is a regular polygon, occasionally known as the regular triangle. It is the ...

Square Tower

The Azrieli Center Square Tower was completed in June 2007. The tower has 42 floors, and is high. It is the shortest of the three towers in the Azrieli complex. Construction of the third tower was stopped in 1998 due to urban planning disagreements and was resumed in 2006. The lower 13 floors house Africa Israel's Crowne Plaza business hotel. The upper floors are used as office space.

Shopping center

The Azrieli Center Mall is one of the largest in Israel. There are about 30 restaurants, fast-food counters, cafes and food stands in the mall. The top floor of the mall is a popular hangout spot for teens, and many online message boards arrange get-togethers there during national holidays. There are over 300 stores in the mall. Due to high, constant terrorism threats, the Azrieli towers are guarded to deter terrorist action, like many buildings in Israel.

Other features

The large complex boasted an 8-screen cinema until 2010, when H&M took over the space. Azrieli also features a large fitness club, night schools, a small kid-focused

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

and a pedestrian bridge leading to Tel Aviv HaShalom Railway Station. A second pedestrian bridge, completed in March 2003, connects the Azrieli Center with the other side of Begin Road, the Shaul HaMelech

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

station and HaKirya. It is expected that a connection between Kaplan underpass and the project's underground carpark, which is one of the largest ever built in the region, will be constructed. When completed, the plot which the Center occupies will offer a 400-seat, open air auditorium.

Access

The Azrieli Center is bordered by the Ayalon Highway that crosses Tel Aviv from North to South,

Begin Road Begin Road is a major thoroughfare in Tel Aviv, Israel. It begins at Allenby Street and runs to its northern end which is at Arlozorov Interchange on Ayalon Highway. There is one interchange along Begin Road, Kaplan Interchange, located near ...

and Giv'at HaTahmoshet Street (a short section that connects Kaplan Street with HaShalom Road). It is situated next to the HaShalom Interchange on the Ayalon Highway. The center can be easily accessed from most parts of Israel by train to the Tel Aviv HaShalom Railway Station which is connected to the center by an enclosed pedestrian bridge or by one of the many buses that stop on Begin Road. In addition, the Tel Aviv Arlozorov Bus Terminal is located north of the complex. Sha'ul HaMelekh LRT Station is located 5 minute walk from the complex.

Spiral Tower

The Spiral Tower is an under-construction 91-floor, 350 meter high skyscraper which will be incorporated into the Azrieli Center complex. The Azrieli Tower will be the second-tallest in Israel if completed (after Bein Arim tower), surpassing the current tallest skyscraper, Azrieli Sarona Tower, and ToHa Tower 2. The building's floor area ratio will be 20.

Gallery

File:Azriely Center 02.JPG, Ground level view of the complex File:Azriely Center 07.JPG, Fountain at the Azrieli Complex, dismantled in the late 2010s in favor of a pedestrian plaza File:Azriely Center 12.JPG, Bridge connecting foot traffic to the Complex File:Tel Aviv Skyline (night) - 2.jpg, Azrieli Center at night

References

External links

Catch up for Tower 3
- World Architecture News {{Portal bar, Israel, Architecture Office buildings completed in 1999 Skyscrapers in Tel Aviv Postmodern architecture Shopping malls in Israel Tourist attractions in Tel Aviv Skyscraper hotels Skyscraper office buildings in Israel Skyscrapers in Israel Residential skyscrapers in Israel 1999 establishments in Israel 20th-century architecture in Israel