Amnon Bar Or – Tal Gazit Architects Ltd. has been a leading office with expertise in the area of architectural planning and the preservation of historic buildings and sites since 1978.

The office was established by architect Amnon Bar Or in the Old City of Safed in 1978 with his return to Israel after the completion of his studies in Florence, Italy.

During its first years, the office concentrated on project planning for public offices and private customers in Safed and in Northern Israel. The main projects during this period included: the planning and management of the Safed Old City Restoration Project for the Ministry of Construction and Housing, and the planning of the preservation and restoration in the excavations of the Roman-Byzantine City in Bet-She`an.

In 1990, the office switched its main arena to Tel Aviv, where it focused on the planning of the preservation and restoration of historic sites.

Within the parameters of its activities, the office deals with: historic and architectural documentation; planning of preservation and restoration; planning and reuse of historic buildings for contemporary needs; preservation and development of historic sites; preservation of archaeological sites and their preparation to manage visitors; and the preparation of criteria for heritage preservation in various cities and historic settlements. The following is a list of some of the cities in which the office has worked thus far: Rehovot, Rishon le-Tsiyon, Kfar Saba, Giv`atayim, Rosh Pinah, Herzliyah, Tiberias, Gush Halav and Old Jaffa.

Within the framework of its activities in historic Tel Aviv, the office planned some of most significant historic buildings in the city: Levine House (the Old Russian Embassy, 46 Rothschild St., Tel Aviv), the Akiva Aryeh Weiss House (2 Herzl St., Tel Aviv), Mani House (36 Yehuda Halevi St., Tel Aviv), the “Twins House,” 7-9 Mazeh St., Tel Aviv) and Zharsky House (9 Gordon St., Tel Aviv), and also the planning, preservation and relocation of buildings in the Sarona Templar Colony (Kaplan St. Tel Aviv), and the planning, preservation and restoration of the al-Manshiyah Railway Station, also known as “The Station” (located at the corner of Koifman and ha-Mered streets, Tel Aviv), etc.