Hermit House
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Hermit House is an inhabited sandcastle in Herzliya, Israel, situated off the edge of cliff near the Sidna-'Ali Mosque on Nof Yam Beach. Its owner, designer, and sole creator, Nissim Cachlon, has been building the structure by hand since the late 1970s, tunneling deep into the cliff side and using natural sea materials. The structure includes dozens of chambers covered in elaborate tile mosaics comprised of recycled materials such as blue glass from broken Maccabee beer bottles, plates, and other debris washed ashore.
Israeli authorities have so far been unable to oust the code non-compliant resident. Hermit House is a spectacular though unconventional example of vernacular architecture in a similar vein of the Watts Towers. Rising sea levels, caused in part to the recent construction by the city of a jetty, now pose a threat to Cachlon's work of several decades. Hermit House's exterior is publicly visible and requests for interior tours are occasionally honored by its owner.
[edit] References
- Let's Go Israel, 2005
- [1]
- Exhibition "Images from Israel/Palestine" Gallery Antigua, Los Angeles, April 2008
[edit] See also
- Antoni Gaudí, a Catalan architect with a similar style, particularly La Sagrada Família in Barcelona.
- Rubelia, located in Glendora, California
- Mystery Castle, a house in Phoenix, Arizona built in the 1930s in a similar style.
- Nitt Witt Ridge, a house in Cambria, California constructed in a similar style.
- Ferdinand Cheval, a French postman who constructed an "ideal palace" out of rocks in his spare time.
