‘riviera seaside art gallery’ by derman verbakel architecture studio images © yuval tebol

tel aviv-based derman verbakel architecture studio has tranformed an abandoned riviera nightclub on the beach of bat-yam, south of tel-aviv

by turning it into a seaside art gallery. a 1,200sq meter grid of decorative concrete columns and beams from the lively night scenes in the 
1950s and 1960s were re-converted to become a creative living space for artists to practice and and produce work. the design of the building 
meshes the distinction between beach life and gallery culture by opening up the façade and revealing the original colonnade, allowing for sand
to continue inside as a stabilized sand floor.
yellow neon lights are used for signage and lighting, referencing new york’s coney island. 
the roughness of the interior has been kept intact by only painting the existing structural grid and adding light elements that do not affect the
open feel of the space, such as fans, spot-lights and movable panels for display. the intent was to create an exhibition space users can visit
in a bathing suit while eating ice cream. 

derman verbakel architecture: riviera seaside art gallery movable panels for display derman verbakel architecture: riviera seaside art gallery neon lighting and sand floor derman verbakel architecture: riviera seaside art gallery building before the conversion: an abandoned nightclubderman verbakel architecture: riviera seaside art gallery opening the facade and allowing the beach landscape to enter derman verbakel architecture: riviera seaside art gallery gallery front porch 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication.

see more project submissions from our readers here.