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Tel Aviv-based architects Irene Goldberg and Sigal Baranowitz explain what Israel's relatively short history means for the country's design dialect, how to create strong brand spaces that express the inhabitant's identity, and why they would like to be respected as architects without the addition of the adjective 'female'.

The paths of Irene Goldberg and Sigal Baranowitz first crossed when they collaborated with Pitsou Kedem on the design of an Asian restaurant in Tel Aviv. The way that Goldberg's specialization in luxury private residential design complemented Baranowitz's background in interior architecture and commercial spaces gave them both a taste for more. Hence why in 2017 they founded their namesake practice. 'We are like a stunt pilot and navigator duo constantly swapping roles,' says Goldberg. 'We dare but we do so with a clear understanding of a project's possibilities and restrictions. Nonetheless we never get tired of trying to stretch the limits.'

How has your studio grown since its foundation?

IRENE GOLDBERG: We were lucky enough to 'hit the ground running' both creatively and business-wise when we first set up our own practice. We collaborated before and already had joint ongoing projects at the time.

SIGAL BARANOWITZ: Over the past years we became more fluent in the language of management. We started off with a team of five including the two of us and we are now at seven, which we believe is our lucky number. We took a metaphorical blood oath not to grow beyond our means and by means we mean our ability to take a leading, active and present part in every detail of the projects that we do. We also managed to gain more trust from the local Israeli audience, which was one of the big challenges and an important milestone on our journey. Now that our projects are receiving more exposure it's getting easier to gain commissions. The choice to work with us is not a blind leap of faith anymore. We enjoy a greater freedom of speech, architecturally speaking.

At the Kaza Israel showroom in Tel Aviv, Baranowitz & Goldberg separated the 1,000-sq-m space into different scenes using sculptural, colourful partitions. Photos: Shai Gil

You both had very international educations and brought that back to Israel. Were you seen as – or feel like – 'outsiders' upon return?

SB: We never felt like outsiders but instead like the bearers of good news, so to speak. Israel is very different from many other countries. We are a young culture that is very often referred to as a melting pot of heritage and influences. Our history is the product of many different countries and cultures and so the Israeli dialect of design does not have its own true roots. One could argue that that's a liberating situation when it comes to design. When we returned from abroad with a bag full of foreign cultural references, history, methodologies, thoughts and work, we felt we had the chance to help shape a brave new world.

IG: Awareness of good design and architecture, and the impact both can have on our society were not high on the list of priorities of this country. We were raised in a complex reality, considering the volatile state of things between us and our neighbouring countries – a fact that formed a belief that our future is always at risk. This shaped us as a country of the here and now. Spiritually that's a wonderful concept, but as designers it can be frustrating, as we face a lack of respect for the quality of craftsmanship and the time needed to develop good designs and architecture. There are very talented people here in Israel, and the venues for their expression are expanding, but it's a bit of a jungle in terms of the dialogue between entrepreneurs and service providers. It is, beyond anything else, a cultural issue.

How would you describe your design philosophy?

IG: Our design process is deeply rooted in intuition and emotion and we like to think of it as a playful balance between art and design. Nonetheless, however artful our interpretation might be, it must be grounded in good solid functionalism. So in other words, we strive to design grounded yet ground-breaking experiences.

SB: When presented with a new commission, we listen attentively to the client's brief. We look for the subtext and for anchors in the stories to develop a strong concept, which is then interpreted into architectural gestures. Our gestures are broad and based on a palette of natural materials and calculated compositions. The play of void and mass is a recurring theme in our designs – we use it to create what we refer to as elegant drama. We enjoy exploring materials and using them in an unexpected form and context. We challenge both ourselves and our clients to step outside of the comfort zone in order to create spaces and objects that defy the norm and open doors for new ideas, new human interactions and new experiences.

Designed by Irene Goldberg for Vaselli, the H2O bathroom collection combines the softness of stone with the rigidity of metal, reflective of the way the brand balances traditional craftsmanship and technological innovation. Photos: David Danieli

What's Tel Aviv's architectural legacy like and in what way does it inspire your work?

SB: Its most beautiful legacy, and the one that inspires us most, is the International Style and its Bauhaus influences. The White City, which is a collection of 4,000 functional International Style buildings, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Growing up surrounded by these masterpieces of architecture with their beautiful proportions, human scale, simple straightforward geometry without decoration, this design language becomes your native tongue. It becomes part of you, it gets in your blood. In our work we take ingredients from it and endeavour to take them to a new level, offering our interpretations of these classic ideals.

Your portfolio contains both projects in the work and hospitality industries, sectors hit hard by the arrival of COVID-19. How do you believe they will evolve going forward?

SB: Workspaces in general went through enormous spatial transformations in the last decade. In pre-pandemic Israel, a start-up nation, we had many high-tech companies put considerable effort in preserving (and attracting) employees by providing unique and ultra-designed work environments. But now, with the pandemic being such a critical gamechanger for workspaces, and with so many people still working from home, a new reality is being formed. We are riding a tidal wave of change, and we're still not sure where it will land us.

IG: When it comes to hospitality, we see less impact. With Israel gaining herd immunity as the majority of the people here are vaccinated, restaurants and bars are once again thriving. We're in the process of completing two new restaurants that had to hold their horses when the clock stopped ticking. Hopefully they will get to enjoy this new bloom soon.

Baranowitz & Goldberg developed custom-designed elements for the showroom of stone and marble manufacturer Fervital to show the possibilities embedded in the brand's materials. Photos: Amit Geron

You are a women-run studio. What does that mean to you working in architecture, a field comprised 77 per cent of men and 23 per cent of women despite nearly equal graduation rates?

IG: This unfortunate universal truth is particularly evident in Israel, which is a very patriarchal society. Despite the fact that both women and men fulfil their citizen duties and serve in the army, and despite the fact that women are important players in all fields and professions – high tech, medicine, law and business, to name a few – machismo is still evident in our society. To add to that, we have the religious establishment, which is both extremely conservative and extraordinarily present in our political agendas. But things are most definitely changing.

SB: Working in Tel Aviv, which is a progressive, pluralistic cosmopolitan city, we do not work with this weight on our shoulders. We are lucky enough to be strongminded and strong-willed enough to plough through any barriers.

IG: We are architects and we are women, but would like to be regarded and respected as architects. Period. Not as female architects. We do not want to burn bras. We want to wear them (or not) proudly and do what we love free of gender discrimination. To our younger selves, we would whisper in the ear to use only one compass – that of their intuition.

This is an edited version of an interview originally published in Frame 141. To read the full conversation, get your copy here.