Azrieli Center

Azrieli Center (Hebrew: Merkaz Azrieli) is a complex of skyscrapers in Tel Aviv. At the base of the center lies a large shopping mall. The center was originally designed by Israeli-American architect Eli Attia, and after he had fallen out with the developer of the center David Azrieli (after whom it is named), completion of the design was passed on to the Tel Aviv firm of Moore Yaski Sivan Architects.

Site

The Azrieli Center is located on a 34,500 m² (371,000 sq ft) site in Tel Aviv, Israel, which was previously used as Tel Aviv's dumpster-truck parking garage. The $350,000,000 project revitalized the area. The Fain Towers are now expected to be built directly across HaShalom Road.

Circular Tower

The Azrieli Center Circular Tower is the tallest of the three towers, measuring 187 m (614 ft) in height. Construction of this tower began in 1996 and was completed in 1999. The tower has 49 floors, making it the tallest building in Tel Aviv and the second tallest in Israel, after the Moshe Aviv Tower in Ramat Gan, which was built in 2001. The top floor has an indoor observation deck and a high-end restaurant, and the 48th floor is home to Mr. Azrieli's personal office.

Each floor of the Circular Tower has 84 windows, giving the tower more than 4,000 windows. The tower's perimeter is 141 meters (463 feet); its diameter is 44 meters (144 feet). Each floor covers 1,520 square metres (16,400 sq ft).

On October 31, 2003, the first annual Azrieli Circular Tower run-up competition was held, in which the participants ran up the 1,144 stairs to the tower's roof. Winners of the contest had the chance to participate in the following year's Empire State Building run-up competition in New York City.

Triangular Tower

The Triangular Tower has a height of 169 m (554 ft). Construction of this tower, like the circular tower, began in 1996 and was completed in 1999. It has 46 floors and its main occupant is Bezeq, Israel's largest telecommunications company; Bezeq occupies 13 floors of the tower. The tower's cross-section is an equilateral triangle.

Square Tower

The Square Tower was completed in June 2007. The tower has 42 floors, and is 154m high. It is the shortest of the three towers in the Azrieli complex. Construction of the third tower was stopped in 1998 due to urban planning disagreements and was resumed in 2006.

The lower 13 floors house Africa Israel's Crowne Plaza business hotel. The upper floors are used as office space.

Shopping center

The Azrieli Center Mall is one of the largest in Israel. There are about 30 restaurants, fast-food counters, cafes and food stands in the mall. The top floor of the mall is a popular hangout spot for teens, and many online message boards arrange get-togethers there during national holidays.

Due to high, constant terrorism threats, the Azrieli towers are guarded to deter terrorist action, like many buildings in Israel.

Other features

The large complex boasted an 8-screen cinema until 2010 when Retailers H&M took over the space, a large fitness club, night schools and is also connected by bridge to Tel Aviv HaShalom Railway Station. A pedestrian bridge, completed on March 2003, connects the Azrieli Center with the other side of Begin Road and HaKirya. It is expected that a connection between Kaplan underpath and the project's underground carpark, which is one of the largest ever built in the region, will be constructed. When completed, the 34,500 m² (371,000 sq ft) plot which the Center occupies, will offer a 400-seat, open-air auditorium. 

Extensions to the Center

As of March 2017, there are plans to build a fourth tower on land bought by the Azrieli Center. If approved, it will encompass 40 dunams.

Access

The Azrieli Center is bordered by the Ayalon Highway that crosses Tel Aviv from North to South, Begin Road and Giv'at HaTahmoshet Street (a short section that connects Kaplan Street with HaShalom Road). It is situated next to the HaShalom Interchange on the Ayalon Highway.

The center can be easily accessed from most parts of Israel by train to the Tel Aviv HaShalom Railway Station which is connected to the center by an enclosed pedestrian bridge or by one of the many buses that stop on Begin Road. In addition, the Tel Aviv Arlozorov Bus Terminal is located 1 kilometer north of the complex.

Sources: Wikipedia

http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-85-floor-4th-tower-approved-for-azrieli-center-1001111900