65 Sheinkin St., Tel Aviv-Yafo – The Rubinsky House The year 1935 saw the beginning of the planning process of an impressive, modernist structure for Mr. Eliezer Rubinsky by the architects L. Kranowski and E. Marcusfeld (whose signatures appear on the plans); no documents were found regarding the involvement of architect Lucian Korngold (to whom the planning is attributed, probably erroneously). However, this fact does not detract from the building being one of the most important and prominent buildings in the International Style in Tel Aviv. The approval of these plans was accompanied by a struggle familiar to us from the Engel House (84 Rothschild St., planned by Zeev Rechter), due to the Tel Aviv Municipality’s initial objection to building on pillars; once it was persuaded to do so, the city even required that all the buildings built in Tel Aviv from the late 1930’s on be built on pillars. The building was erected as a residential building with spacious apartments and a luxurious lobby. However, it became well-known for the design of its different and distinct façades (facing Gilboa and Sheinkin streets). The whole building is coated with ground plaster (Kratzputz) with a sparkling mineral additive typical of the period and constituting one of the building’s identifying marks. This building attests to the fact that International Style architects in Tel Aviv used to decorate their buildings with modern-style decorations, something that went completely against the spirit of the Bauhaus founders and of the period. One may notice the awnings, the round windows, rounded terraces, hanging concrete beams and gutters serving more as ‘decorations’ than fulfilling some practical function.