Gagon Night Shelter

Tel Aviv

The "Gagon" at 6 Elizabeth Berger Street is the first building in Israel built as a night shelter for homeless people. Standing at the entrance to Jaffa, near the Clock Square, it was erected by the Tel Aviv Foundation in collaboration with the Lasova Association, which runs the shelter. Street dwellers are hosted here for dinner, a night's sleep and rehabilitation, in the hope of returning to a stable and independent life.

The concept behind the building is human dignity – preserving the privacy of its residents while offering hope for their future. That hope is also the view of the sea from the windows.

The three-story building, with a built area of 1,450 sqm on a 750 sqm plot, includes an entrance courtyard and a public facade facing the square. It offers accommodation for 144 residents, with showers and toilets shared by every two rooms, a dining room and kitchen for 60 diners, workshop rooms with a sea view, rooftop balconies for meetings and activities, offices, and a separate wing of offices and retail facing the square. The furniture was custom-designed for the special needs of the place.

Planning Team: Yoav Messer Architects – Daniel Gazit (Lead Architect), Dekel Baehr, Nelly Skomorovskaya | Structure: Doron Tuag | Management & Supervision: David Raz, Yoni Guetta | Contractor: Rom Geves | Photography: Amit Gosher