Location: Bat Yam
Year: 2012 - 2013
Area: 100 sqm
Status: Built
Client: Bat Yam municipality
Team: Meira Kowalsky, Artium Berlinsky


Project Description:

Shalom Asch (1880–1957) was a celebrated Jewish writer and playwright, best known for his Yiddish novels, stories, and dramas. His work explored Jewish life, identity, migration, and the social challenges of the early 20th century. He gained international recognition, publishing widely in Europe and the United States, and is considered one of the central figures of modern Yiddish literature. His final years were spent in Bat Yam, where the museum now preserves both his home and legacy.

The house was given to the writer Shalom Asch by Bat Yam’s mayor as a gesture of honor in 1955. The modest 100 m² home reflects the early years of the State of Israel: simple, functional, and surrounded by a garden, typical of the neighborhood’s original character. After Asch’s death in 1957, the municipality preserved the house.
Now part of the Bat Yam Museums (MoBY), the house preserves the atmosphere of the city’s first neighborhood. Its original materials, room layout, and simple design reflect the collective lifestyle of early Israeli society.
To adapt the house for public use—exhibitions, literary gatherings, and community activities—we introduced a few carefully planned interventions. These moves improve public circulation and open the space for gatherings and reading events, while maintaining the home’s original character.