WOM Allenby Hotel / Gerstner Architects

Curated by Paula Pintos

Architects: Gerstner Architects
Area: 350 m²
Year: 2020
Photographs:Mark Kovalsky
Manufacturers: AutoDesk, Google, Knoll International, REHAU, TCI
Engineering: InDan

Text description provided by the architects. WOM Allenby is the first of a new brand of pod-style hotels located in the Mediterranean seaside city of Tel Aviv. Located at 21 Allenby Street, the hotel is a block away from Tel Aviv's beach promenade and offers 48 stylish, private and modern pod rooms in both single and double-occupancy arrangements. WOM's new hybrid accommodation is engineered for today's contemporary, urban traveler who values design, a sense of community and the experience of staying in a central urban location at a wallet-friendly price point. WOM is a member of Brown Hotels, the pioneering Tel Aviv-based hospitality group known for its diverse portfolio of design-led, boutique hotels.

WOM Allenby has three room categories, solo pod (1 person), twin pod (2 persons) and king pod (2 persons). The hotel offers 48 pods with a fresh and sleek design. Each pod is outfitted with a comfy bed, Egyptian cotton sheets, desk, a sink, A/C, TV screen and sound system, storage space and a private safety deposit box. Every two to three rooms share a single-occupancy bathroom in the hotel's hallway. The concept of WOM was developed by sibling Architects Lihi and Din Gerstner to tackle the issue of limited space and high prices in dense urban cities. Many older office buildings in Tel Aviv have stood vacant because they are either too small for a large corporation or too large for a small organization. WOM Allenby occupies such a space and has transformed a former office building lobby into a new designation and design-led hotel spread out over 350 SQM.

"We founded WOM with the belief that we could change the way the travel world uses space," says co-founders, owners and co-CEOs Lihi and Din Gerstner. "WOM is built upon a community of architects, designers and hoteliers who are on a mission to transcend the traditional concept of hospitality and provide everyone with access to stay in the best locations for urban travel at affordable prices. WOM provides comfort and a sense of style, designed for the modern traveler's essential needs."

WOM's innovative design adheres to core sustainable values and each pod room was developed with eco-friendly materials and construction methods. The walls of each room feature cellulose insulation materials, along with soundproof-certified partitions and doors that provide advanced thermal protection and acoustic levels. Each pod room is soundproofed to an impressive 45 decibels, fitting strict Israeli hotel regulations. The lighting scheme features only LED A-rated energy efficient bulbs and use of plastic throughout hotel is kept to a bare minimum.