I think it's time, Caroline,to go see how the other half live.
[Caroline]Talk about "welcome to my humble abode."
Cor! That is a whole lot of house!
He's Piers Taylor,an award-winning architect.
I mean, the depth of this wall;it's four foot thick.
After you, my Lord.
And she's Caroline Quentin,
acclaimed actressand passionate property developer.
This house has the perfect ratio
of bedrooms to swimming pools.
[Caroline] We've been given the keysto some of the most incredible houses
in the world.
IIf we were left alone here for any amountof time, I have a feeling...
We would ruin this house.
[Piers] To discover the design innovation,passion,
and endurance neededto transform architectural vision
into an extraordinary home.
[Caroline] Look! I'm dumbstruck.
We're travelling the globe.
[Piers] Meeting architects and owners,to explore how their daring homes respond
uniquely to local landscape,climate and culture.
I think this is probablythe greatest house I've ever been in.
Whether its battling the elements
to construct a dream homeon dramatic Scandinavian terrain...
The architect was nervousthat things would go wrong.
He couldn't bear to look at it.
[Piers] Pushing the boundariesof European experimentation...
-I think that's it.-I think it is.
[architect] When I looked at the proposal,at the beginning, I was almost shocked.
[Caroline] Celebrating craftsmanshipand beauty in Asia...
We've likened this house to drippingchocolate sauce over vanilla ice cream.
[Piers]Or going all out for glamour in America...
You just do what you do best,is to create a masterpiece.
Piers! Is this too Miami?
[Piers]This time, we're in the Middle East.
[Piers] Israel. Here we are.
It's exciting to bein such an ancient culture, isn't it?
It is.
[Piers] We've come to see the work
of some of Israel'smost interesting contemporary architects,
who often take inspirationfrom the country's rich
cultural and historical traditions,
creating buildings that also have to dealwith an extreme climate.
From a stunning city house carvedout of a hillside...
[Caroline]This is clearly what it's all about.
-It's all about the rock.-It's all about the rock.
[Caroline]To luxury living by the Mediterranean.
This is one seriously glamorous boudoir.
[Piers] We're on a kindof architectural pilgrimage.
Look at the light, Piers! It's magical,the way it's bouncing off the floor!
[Piers] As we hit the road seekingextraordinary homes in the Holy Land...
I want you, Piers Taylor, to give mea surmon on architecture.
Convert me.
[C] We're starting our journey just northof Tel Aviv, in Herzliya Pituach.
This is one of the wealthiestneighborhoods in Israel,
renowned for boutique hotels, restaurants,embassies, and jaw-dropping houses,
it's a millionaire's playgroundby the Mediterranean.
Back on the beach.
[Caroline] When a British businessmanand his Israeli wife wanted to build
their dream family home,
they searched for a plotin this exclusive neighborhood.
I think this is it, P.
It's enormous!
[Piers] It's huge, isn't it?
[Caroline] I mean it's likea great big liner, isn't it?
-It is.-Oh, gosh! It's wonderful!
[Piers] It's a surprise to find this huge,intriguing-looking house tucked away
in a suburban plot.
Beyond the giant white facadewith its sculpted screens
is a sleek and spacious family homedesigned to embrace the outdoors.
[Caroline] Shall we have a look inside?
[Piers] The gate's open.
[Caroline] This is like a gangplankonto a 1930s liner.
It is, isn't it?
And it's so lush, it's so verdant!
[Caroline] Look at the planting!
It's quite tropical, isn't it?
[Piers] Ossi, who's the ownerof this house, has invited us in.
-Hello!-Hello! Welcome!
Hello.
-Lovely to meet you! Here's Piers.-Hello. I'm Caroline. This is Piers.
[Caroline] Don't be so ridiculous!Ossi, lovely to meet you.
Thank you very muchfor letting us come in.
Thank you so much!
Phew! It's alreadyextraordinarily beautiful!
Thank you. Thank you very much.
[Caroline] It's immediately obviousthat no expense has been spared
in this palacial family home.
Ossi and her husband Steve have createdgenerous living spaces
which are warm and welcoming.
Throughout the ground floor,
choreographed lightand reflective pools create
a calm connection with the outside world.
Let me show you the areathat we actually live.
We're actually spending most of our timehere outside
'cause it's a hot country, you know,
nine months a year, we're outside.
[Caroline] So how many are you here?
So I came with my three kids,and my husband came with his three kids,
-Right.-Thank God they really get on together.
We all live here with friends and families
and everyone come in and outwhenever they want.
It's really like... like a home.
I think it's great that in a housewhich is really, I mean,
quite phenomenal,that it's a home as well.
It's a place you feel you can usethat teenagers can come and live and be.
Yeah, there's no rules in the house.
As long as everyone's nice to each other,I'm happy. We don't really have rules.
So, in the end you wanteveryone to enjoy it.
Well if you don't mind,I shall thoroughly immerse myself
in your home, if that's OK.
Of course. Would you like a cup of coffee?
Thank you. I'd love that.
[Piers] This is a huge housewith 800 square meters of floor space
that is set over three levels.
In the basement,there are three large en-suite bedrooms,
a cinema, and a bar area.
Upstairs, there's a main bedroomand dressing room
and three further bedrooms.
The ground floor is open-planwith a generous kitchen,
a dining room, and two sitting areas,
which all open onto the garden.
-P?-Hello.
She's gone to make me a cup of coffee,but she was just telling me
how they live pretty muchalmost entirely outside
because the climate's so good.
She says all of this opens up.
It does. I mean, it's hard to know wherethe inside ends and the outside begins,
but all of these pull back.
And this does change the characterof the house completely, doesn't it?
Entirely. I mean, you open up the sideand suddenly,
you're in a completely different space,
and the way you feelabout it changes completely.
It does. I mean, particularly here,where this goes from being...
a rather large hall into being partof the garden.
I'll give you a hand.It's getting heavier.
It is. Yeah.
I mean, this is absolutely glorious,what happens to this.
I mean, that completely altersthis entire space.
It's really weird, actually,thinking about it.
You come in, and in a way,if you walked in and this was open,
it would be like being in a housethat's made out of one wall.
-That's right.-The far wall is actually
-the other side of the house.-That's right.
That's how, I think, it's been designed.
The boundary wall is the outside wall
and everything in it isjust movable screen or furniture.
Talk about using your plot.
Now, there are no bedrooms here,so I think we probably have to head...
-Down?-Or up?
-Or both.-Or both.
Pretty staircase.
Wow, it's so different downstairsand so dark.
So textured.
[Piers] The moonscape wall changesthe tone from the airy upper floors
and draws you in.
The subdued lightingand dark furnishings are in stark contrast
to the rest of the house.
This is the sort of roomthat most blokes would fantasize about.
A bar,
and a huge screen to watch football.
While Piers is trying to find the remote,
I'm seeingwhat the top floor has to offer.
I'm guessing this is the master bedroom.
[exhales in wonder]
This is one seriously glamorous boudoir.
Quite a smart bathroom as well.Fantastic walls!
Beautiful, beautiful stone walls.
Biggest showerhead in Israel.
Possibly the world.
Massive bath.
Lady in a hurry.
[C] Ossi and Steve are living the dream.
[P] I want to ask architect Pitsou Kedemhow they began this project.
Well, when you design private houses,
it's all about drawinga portrait of your client.
Steve lives in London, and when I ask himwhat are you doing for a living,
He said, "I'm a sitter. I like to sit.
Sometimes I like to sitnext to the swimming pool,
sometimes I like to sitnext to my fireplace."
He's a sitter. OK? So that's, in a way...
Ossi's the dynamic shapesand the movement in the house.
So it's kind of drawing a portraitof different persons.
What did Ossi ask you for?
Well, she said, you know,"Let's have fun."
And then she brought all the color,
I mean, in a way, I think she broughtthe courage to the house.
I drive them all mad. I drive Pitsou mad,Steve mad I want it my way,
I want to do, like,things that have personality,
that have meaning.
This wall, in particular, I adore.
[Ossi] I really, really love natural stoneand texture.
I love, like, when you goyou can touch the walls,
it just gives a bitof more interesting way for the house.
[Caroline] Ossi's attention to detailhas created a lavish finish.
The use of rich textureand vibrant materials,
and not the stark minimalist languageyou'd expect within a modernist shell.
But here, the aesthetic brings lifeand warmth to the interiors.
[Piers]Great architecture often looks effortless,
but creating a home like thisis never easy.
It took four years to design and build.
What do you think the biggest challengefor you was here?
Well, I think the biggest challenge washow can we mix
between garden and house?
How can we really ignore the boundarybetween interior and exterior?
And I think, for me, we started the designfrom the edge of the plot itself.
It's almost like all the second floor isfloating in the air
and those windows, with the inner column,
they don't really exist.
I mean you can open the windows,
then you can really feel that you livein and outside together.
And also because you've takenwater inside.
Yeah.
[Piers] There's surprisingly littleobvious structure
supporting the weight of the floors above,
and the design team have worked hard
to keep the structureto an absolute minimum.
There's a real integration of architectureand engineering in this house.
There are columns sunkinto extra deep foundations,
which then support a network of beams
which are cleverly hiddenin the floors and interior walls.
A lot of effort has gone into makingJ House feel light and airy.
-[C] Oh, yeah. Now this is a lovely spot.-[Ossi] Yeah.
This is the place when you wantto chill out, to relax,
which we come here, and I'll show youthe right way of doing it.
-Yeah.-So you sit down,
-and put your coffee away,-OK.
-your legs up.-Yes.
-Just close your eyes for two seconds.-OK.
Listen to the water and the birds.
Ossi, it's fantastic.
When I open my eyes, I think I've gotone of the best views in the whole house.
I've got the foliage of the treeand the bright blue of the sky
and then that splash of evening sunlighton the wall
with just the dancing shadowsof the leaves.
It's a wonderful place to sit, isn't it?
Yeah, it's definitely my favorite part.
It's so casual, easy,
it makes you relax and open your heart.
So this is where all our conversationswith our kids happening.
Decisions of the house.All this happening here.
[Caroline] It's a house with everything,really, isn't it?
And it looks after the people you love.
[Ossi] Yeah, I think the house somehowlike cuddling all,
I feel like the house is cuddlingof everything that happens in this family.
[Caroline] I love the cuddling house!
It's sort of like cuddling.
It is! I love it!And then wrap its arms around you!
-I'm never getting up from here.-Me neither.
-So comfortable.-I told you to bring a bottle of wine.
If I had a glass of wine,I probably would never leave.
It's just heaven!
After four years of meticulous planning,building, and plenty of passion,
Ossi and Steve finally havethe house they dreamed of.
Now, they can sit back and enjoy it.
[P] To visit our next home, we're leavingthe salubrious suburbs behind
and heading into the heartof the Holy Land.
This landscape's suddenly becomereally biblical, have you noticed?
Yeah.
[Piers] We're bound for the rural north,
where the earliest stone housesin the world have been discovered.
[Caroline] Our next architectural treasureis built high on the slopes
of the Jordan Rift Valley
and gazes downon the sacred Sea of Galilee.
Going down now.
[Caroline] The sea is actuallythe largest freshwater lake in Israel.
And it's these azure viewsthat inspired a local family
to snap up a building ploton the outskirts
of their agricultural village,
where we've had to resortto Shanks's pony.
I like this piece of land,but it's quite rocky.
-[P] There it is. And wow, look! I mean...-[C] Look at this! Oh, wow!
Look at the color of it,
compared to the color of this limestone.
I mean, it's perfect.
[Caroline] This is a housethat truly inhabits the landscape.
There's something enigmaticabout it,
as if it's waiting for youto peel back those shutters
to reveal what's inside.
-[Caroline] Time to go in.-[Piers] Very much so.
[Caroline] But what's inside?
-[Piers] A secret box.-[Caroline] Oh!
[Piers] Feels almost religious, this.
-Like a chapel, like a cloister.-Yes!
Look at the light, Piers! It's magical,the way it's bouncing off the floor!
[Piers] This house is beautifully craftedand understated.
There is real simplicity here.
The subtle use of colorsand materials integrate the house
into its pastoral surroundings,while its passive design keeps it cool
even in the 40 degree summer sun.
[Caroline] Those screens just workabsolutely brilliantly.
[P] This is a really ancient way of makingbuildings in this part of the world.
These screens that filter the light,filter the heat,
and make it beautiful, subtly lit,cool interior.
Shall we open this a bit more?
You know, it's a pretty good spaceto be in. You've got the sun,
you've got shade...
Piers Taylor standing,talking to you about architecture.
[C] We are very close to where Jesuspreached one of his greatest sermons
to the masses. I want you, Piers Taylor,to give me a sermon on architecture.
Convert me.
Well, my top point would be,in this part of the world,
deal with heat, light, and air,
in the most economical possible way.
And this house does it beautifully.
Just simple, passive means of filtering
heat and light and wind,
and look, the whole house benefitsfrom this simple move
and you're benefiting from it now.
I'm converted and oh, so comfortable.
[Piers] This entrance veranda isa key aspect of the house.
It acts as a breezeway, a space betweenthe shutters and the glass,
which cools the airbefore it enters inside.
This breezeway opens up to a large,open-plan kitchen, diner, living room,
an en-suite guest room, and a utility.
Upstairs, there's a main bedroom,two bedrooms for the children,
and a comfortable family sitting areawhich leads onto a generous balcony.
[Caroline] Like the ground floor,upstairs is bathed in gentle light.
The unassuming rooms never distractfrom the beauty of the landscape.
The house is permeatedwith fresh air drifting up from the sea.
This gentle, simple home is rootedin its environment.
The couple who live here havea young family,
and I think this is just the most charminglittle girl's bedroom.
It's really simple. Really quiet.
And it also has...
its own miniature version
of all the other shutters in the house.
[Piers] Every bedroomhas a window out on this world.
And in this climate, the south-facing onesin particular
benefit from an indigenous featureto help them keep cool.
There's something about the proportionof an opening like this
that makes sense in this climate.
The heat is usually so extreme,the light is so extreme
that a smaller opening,with a pair of doors that you can shut,
a between space that keeps the heat out,
and then a screen that deals with light.
It's timeless and perfect.
One of the things I really loveabout these shutters...
is that they're almost industrialor rural.
They're like they're partof this countryside, really,
because they could easily beon a cow barn or in a cattle shed.
There's nothing remotely pretentiousabout them.
They just do their job.
In a really simple and beautiful way.
[C] This lovely house was designedby husband and wife,
acclaimed architectsGalit and Yaron Golany.
What starting point did you have?
I mean, because it does have the most,I mean probably,
one of the most extraordinary viewsin the world, actually.
Was that quite a daunting thingfor an architect?
More than that, it was a privilege.
It just dictated all of the design
and the fact that we wanted to open
to the south and the east
to really engagewith this ancient landscape.
[C] To guarantee the sweeping views,the house had to face south,
directly into the searing sun,
which in turn pushed Galit and Yaron
to create a distinctive lookwith balconies,
breezeways, and of course, the shutters.
Were there any challenges with the build?
Anything that you came up againstthat was difficult to deal with?
Yes. The budget.
[both laugh]
If you have less money,you must work harder.
I think that's right. I do, and I think,with your house here,
that's what we sense.
The effort and the thoughtthat's gone into those details.
But for us, as visitors to the house,
that's one of the magical thingsabout the house, I think.
-Thank you.-Thank you.
[Piers] In an age of environmentalawareness, there's a tendency
to think that you need high-tech methodsto deal with climate,
particularly in a place like this,which gets baking hot.
I mean, it's 40-odd degrees herefor much of the year.
The question is how do you makeusable living spaces
when you've got that kind of climate?
And what you do iswhat this house has done.
You take almost half the depthof the floor plan is given over
to a breezeway that exists through here.
And effectively, what this breezeway doesis act as a buffer
from the heat, and moderates the light,
moderates the heatand everything else between.
And then the bulk of the heat,
the bulk of the harsh light are filteredby this screen
and that then allows this to be a usable,shaded space.
And they make itinto something of real beauty.
You can see why the owners wantedto build a house here.
But they weren't the first peopleto think of this place
as a really desirable location.
[Caroline]Out there, they have discovered evidence
of human habitation from as long agoas 14,000 years.
[Piers] But what's brilliant is they didthe same things then that they do now.
They take the stuff of the groundand they make it into poetry.
[Caroline] This property is poetic.
It's a simple, ingenious,extraordinary family home.
For our third house, we've cometo the holy city of Jerusalem.
Piers, Piers.
Look at the gold, the shining gold,on top of the...
[Piers] Wow.
[Caroline] Yeah. That's the Gardenof Gethsemane surrounding it,
all those cypress trees.
That's actually mind-blowing.
Dating back 6,000 years, Jerusalem isone of the oldest
and most fought-over cities in the world.
Today, it's still a place of pilgrimage,
where Muslims, Jews, and Christians cometo worship at sites
connected with the very foundationof their faith.
[Piers] With its distinctiveJerusalem stone buildings,
some dating back thousands of years,
this city is like nowhere else.
[Caroline] Look at Jerusalem,spread out beneath us!
And what's amazing is to seeall the spires, the minarets,
the mosques on the skyline,all jockeying for position.
I mean, look at the buildings.I mean they're...
all completely different from one another,all equally beautiful.
Highly decorative, incredibly simple.
I mean, you couldn't geta more diverse range of buildings.
[C] Whatever is built here must be madewith the characteristic local limestone.
It's a law dating back 100 years
to protect and preservethe aesthetic of this ancient city.
The owners of our next housefound a place to build
in one of Jerusalem'smost desirable neighborhoods
and then bravely gave their architectscarte blanche with the design.
This one, I think. That's the modern one.
[Piers] Yes, it has a textured gate.
Right.
Now, the owners aren't here,so I'm gonna do this code. Two--
Ooh. You could just do that.
[Caroline] It's beautiful.
[Caroline] The architects have builta four-bedroom family home
that certainly showcasesthat Jerusalem stone.
The fascinating facade catches the lightand throws intriguing shadows,
creating an ever-changing surfaceas the sun moves through the sky.
[Caroline] The stone gets more interestingthe closer you get.
That's the test of a good building,in a way.
The closer you get,it gets more interesting.
We're in.
We are in. My magic key has broughtus into this lovely room.
Wow, it's so glossy.
The furniture, the lights,everything is white, shiny and glossy.
It really is. It's like walkinginto some sort of Powell Pressburger
version of heaven, isn't it?It's extraordinary.
[Piers] The highly polished floorsand surfaces contrast perfectly
with the rough textured exterior,
and they also reflect it,bringing the outside in.
And just when you thinkthe outside can't get any closer...
Look, Piers.This is clearly what it's all about.
-It's all about the rock.-It's all about the rock.
[Piers] The architects have leftthe ancient limestone cliff exposed
as a bold counterpointto the super-smooth interiors.
[Caroline] This is fantastic, isn't it?
It's great to see the rock face leftin its almost virgin state.
I mean, that's what they've done,isn't it?
They've obviously seen that and thought,let's not dig it out.
Clearly, most people excavate right back.
Well, land is so valuable in citiesthat people press buildings
right up against itand use every inch of space.
But here, they've left it for a breezeway.It is really cool here.
It's actually a really lovely place to be.
-Isn't it?-It's really lovely.
[C] It's like a private garden space.
It's sort of not at all what I expectedJerusalem to have somehow.
It's much wilder, and the restof the city is quite formal, isn't it?
And this is just,well it's a bit bonkers, frankly.
[P] To construct this 4-storey building,77 tons of rock had to be excavated.
The lower basement houses a garage,above which there's a large games room.
The ground floor of the housesits one and a half meters
from the exposed rock face which runsalong the living and dining rooms,
leading onto a kitchen.
The first floor meets the rock face,sheltering the stone wall below.
Upstairs,there are four en suite bedrooms.
Outside, the entire exterior is cladin 5,000 stone tiles
shaped from the excavated rock.
It's kind of surreal in a way,because this is so wild here, Caroline.
Yeah.
And yet, it's like a little David Hockneypainting outside, isn't it?
[Caroline] I love that comedy perfectionof that citrus tree there, as well.
Just boinging out over the swimming poolagainst the blue.
Piers, I don't know how to get upstairs--Yes, I do. I found it.
I wonder what's up here.
Suddenly, we're almost outdoors again,
because here in a pot,and only in Israel would you find this,
there is a potted kumquat tree.
Makes fantastic marmalade.
This is a wonderful room,
because not only have you gotthe double aspect,
but from this side,
I can see a balcony.
And here it is.
The real star of the show.
The city of Jerusalem.
What's really clear, standing up here,
is the juxtaposition of this modern stone,
these rectangles,where the light plays so beautifully.
But when I cast my eye down there,I see the more ancient,
the older Jerusalem stone,which is rougher hewn, hand cut.
And it's just fantasticthat these modern buildings
and the ancient buildings are all madefrom exactly the same stuff.
[Piers] Barud House gets its namefrom the warning call
shouted before Jerusalem rock is exploded.
And it's fascinating the waythat this building honors
this hallowed stone in all its forms.
It's almost as thougha sculptor has been at work,
taking the raw material and shaping it.
Typically, material is always subservientto form and space,
so the thing that you remember isnever the material.
But this house inverts that
and it's the material that I readmuch more strongly than anything else.
Having said that,the spaces here are pretty good, too.
Working out the dimensions of this house
was a mathematical challenge.
The architects designed the buildingaround multiples
of the 53x25 cm stone blocks
in order that none were cut.
The result is a perfectly resolvedgeometric puzzle.
The architectsbehind this almost Rubik's Cube
of a house are husband and wifeParitzki and Liani.
So when you were here nine years agoand you walked around,
did you know immediatelyhow you wanted to treat the rock?
Yes, the impression that we receivedwhen we arrived here was
very strong because this raw rock wasvery beautiful
and the presence, it's very important,
especially in a symbolic wayfor this city.
The big idea about the rock face,keeping it, and then using stone
with a deep relief,how did you present that to your client?
The owners are religious,so there was a nice dialogue with us
that we don't know many of the rules,but for example,
that we couldn't use paintings,
and that's why we said that, you know,the main painting of the house will be
-really this... this pattern or this rock.-Pattern.
That's incredibly interesting. I mean,they have no art, is that right?
-No. Not allowed.-No, they're not allowed to put art.
So the building in a way had to takethe place of artwork.
In a way, you're right.
It's like an installation, in a way.
[Caroline] This impressive facademight be an architect's flight of fancy,
but this is a practical family home.
A generous courtyard with a poolfavors outdoor living.
And inside, the use of glassfor the walls creates a sense of space,
which remains cool,thanks to that rocky breezeway.
Upstairs, the teenagers' bedroomscan be accessed separately,
allowing them independence,and their parents some peace and quiet.
Jerusalem doesn't have a cohesiveness
that allows you to read itat first glance.
You know, it's always beengroups of people jostling in
and making it their ownand making a stake on it.
Well I think what does make it cohesive isthis use of the Jerusalem rock
and I thinkthat's one of the most spellbinding things
about the place.
And of course it's trueof this house as well.
It is the rock that gives itits personality and makes it so special.
[C] For our final home, we've made our wayto the Arab village of Musmus,
close to the occupied West Bank.
It's very, very different from the restof Israel, isn't it, where we've been?
[C] In my mind, I thought it would havesome sort of European references,
but it doesn't feel like that to me.
It's quite a surpirse.
[Piers] We've been told the housewe're looking for sits on top of a hill.
But around here,they seem more like mountains.
Wow! This is quite glamorous, isn't it?
This is just beautiful!
Look at the planting.Look at the cypresses.
[Piers] Should we stop here?
The air is different up here.
It's like we'rein a completely different land.
[Piers]These plants are great, aren't they?
Smell good.
It's absolutely wonderful.
[Caroline] Commanding its hilltop positionis this spellbinding property.
The challenge here was to revampthe family's preexisting home
by combining modernismand Islamic architecture,
creating three beautiful gardens.
The owner wanted the entire spaceto celebrate his Arabic heritage
in a modern setting.
He's kindly agreed to show us round.
-Adnan. Caroline. Lovely to meet you.-Hello.
-This is Piers.-Nice to meet you.
Hi. Great to meet you.
We've loved walkingin through your beautiful gardens.
-You're welcome.-These screens are fantastic,
this light coming through isreally interesting and beautiful.
I'm gonna... can I have a lookand see what's behind?
Yeah, please. OK.
I'd like to look at the gardens.Can I do that?
-Of course. Yeah. Please.-Will you take me? Thank you very much.
This screen is so evocativeof this part of the world.
In Islamic culture,the lattice screen is a really big deal.
In the Middle East, these mashrabiyascreens have been used for centuries.
The architects could have chosena traditional Islamic design,
but they brought this onebang up to date
with an abstract depictionof the pomegranate.
An auspicious fruit in Islamic culture,it's known as the Apple of Paradise
and is a symbol of fertility and beauty.
This is such a clever wayof controlling the environment
'cause of course, this filters the light,
it actually creates a ventilation pathfor the house,
but it shelters the housefrom this burning heat.
I'm loving what I see so far.
The architects inherited
a fairly traditional Arabicfour-bedroom family home.
Their brief was to make senseof the buildings
that had no real coherence and createa large Arabic entrance way
with a sitting area above.
And to add more living space,a family room in the east wing
and a formal dining area in the west wing.
A large drawing room was createdfrom two small sitting rooms,
leading out to a new outdoor terrace.
Two new gardenswith distinctive atmospheres were created
next to the house
with a third large terraced garden makingthe most of the steep approach.
[door shuts]
Two different worlds have been broughttogether by the architects.
An Islamic world steeped in tradition
and a 21st Century sense of modernity.
This is a liwan.This is the type of space that's been used
in Islamic and Persian architecturefor about 2,000 years.
And the purpose is, of course,to bring people in, to greet them,
to display your wealth.
But it has a really important rolein cooling the rest of the building,
because all the air washes off itand cools the whole space.
But there is something in this space thatyou wouldn't normally find in an liwan.
This is not quite the elephantin the room,
but certainly something I can't ignore.
It's a really quite sculptural staircase
and I'm in a space that, in many ways,could be 2,000 years old.
But this very much anchors itin the 21st Century.
The simplicity of the new white additions
combine with the lush mashrabiya screens
to create a spaciousand almost magical atmosphere.
[C] Adnan's family have had a home herefor almost longer than one can remember.
His ancestors once grew olivesand grazed sheep on this hillside.
He wanted to maintainthis family connection with the land
by creating beautifuloutdoor living spaces.
-Is this an Arabic garden?-Yes.
My grandfather lived here
and you see the stones,
we take from his house
-Really? These stones?-Yeah. Yes, these stones,
-Oh Adnan!-we take from his house, yes,
and build it, like, for the gardens.
-May I go into this garden?-Yeah, OK.
When you come through this archway,
you're... I mean, it's very moving,actually. You're almost moving
-through part of your grandfather's house.-Yes.
Yes. Now I built it and make a renovation,you know, and live here.
It's my childhood. It's very sweet.
[Caroline] The architect has createdan interpretation
of an Islamic Paradise Garden.
Flowing water representing life.
Shady planting and seating.
It's a place for rest and reflection.
A reminder of the paradise that awaitsbelievers in heaven.
The second garden isa more practical affair.
A traditional terraced Arabic bustan,
an agricultural garden filledwith fruit trees.
It's absolutely beautiful.
Yeah, thank you.
-And grapefruit!-Yeah.
-Can I pick one?-Yeah. I can pick it for you.
Can you? Thank you very much.You've got a little more height.
-It's beautiful.-Yes.
And the smell of these things,
does it take you back to your childhood,to when you were here with your...
-Yes.-Does it?
When I walk here,I go back with my childhood.
A lot of things, you know.
You decided to build a modern house,but with old traditional things?
Yes, I think to build a modern house,
and my friend is an architect.
I called him and I asked himif he can make a house
who is mix the traditional of my culture
with the modern life.
And he say good idea.
[Piers] The architects Ron Fleisherand Golan Hadari had to get up to speed
on Islamic culture in order to workconvincingly on Adnan's house.
We're here in an Arab village,
so we as you know comingfrom Tel Aviv had to learn
all those traditions and reinterpret them
into architecture of the 21st Century.
And the outside spaces feel as importantas the inside spaces,
I mean more so, in some ways.
Yeah, I think it connectsto the way the family lives.
They are a big family,
they entertainand do family gatherings a lot.
It's very hot during almost all the year
and the outside atmosphere isgreat all over.
But I think the gardens are like,you know, extra free rooms.
[Piers] The architects have createda unique and personal living space,
which works well for Adnan and his family.
From this beautiful liwanto the light, spacious drawing room
and those three gardens,there's a real sense
of the ancient being woven effortlesslyinto the contemporary.
There's something timelessabout buildings like this
and in many ways,
architects think that history startedin about 1930 with modernism.
But architects workingin other cultures don't have that hangup.
They have thousands of yearsof architectural history they can draw on.
[Caroline] The third of Adnan's gardens,
overlooked by the dining areato the rear of the house.
For six months of the year,the family spend a lot of time here.
It's planted in Mediterranean style
with olives, citrus, and figs.
But the traditional Arabic influencesare never far away.
It's really hard to believe,
when you're in this wonderfulArabian Nights-style garden,
that just a few feet beyond that wall
is the really busy,thriving city of Musmus
because in here, all I'm aware of isthe blue sky, the rustling of the leaves,
the fantastic mosaicswhich are all around me,
and the sound of birdsong.
Utterly enchanting.
What have you been doing?
I've just been adoringbeing in this magical secret garden.
You know what that is?
That's the biggest grapefruitI've ever seen.
-No, Piers. That's a pomelo.-Is it?
Don't pick it, Piers.Please don't pick it.
That is a big-- Oh, no!
Piers!
Get it back on!
-I'll just stay...-She did it. She did it.
He's run awayand left me holding the pomelo.
[sound of laughter]
[Piers] Thankfully,it wasn't Adnan's pride and joy
and it doesn't stop himand his wife Haifa providing us
with a feast before we go.
[Adnan] Maqluba.
[Caroline] Oh it smells so fantastic!
This is rice?
Maqluba. Rice.
Maqluba?
Maqluba is the opposite.
This is amazing. Thank you.
The food in Israel is the best foodin the world.
-[C] It's wonderful.-Yes.
[Caroline] It's really wonderful.
[Caroline]All I need now is an Arabic coffee.
I think this house has reminded meof how in contemporary architecture,
we think that we have 100 years of historyto play with.
But actually we have30,000 years of history to play with.
-And Israel...-What can we say about Israel?
I don't think I could ever have expectedanything to be as culturally,
geographically,architecturally diverse as this.
It's been so exciting.Everything we've seen.
The people we've met.Everything we've eaten.
It's been new and challengingand rather thrilling.
Subtitle translation by: Metia Bethell