An Ottoman-era home in Jaffa has been refurbished as a spa, where Japanese elements sit alongside original Arabic details like arched ceilings and stone walls.
Designer Yoko Kitahara, who emigrated to Israel from Tokyo's Hayama seaside region over a decade ago, designed and developed the concept for the spa ? which she also named after herself. She had some help from her husband Liran Benami, an architect who practises in nearby.

Spanning 2,691 square feet (250 square metres), and with 861 square feet (80 square metres) of balconies and rooftop space, the space was originally an Ottoman-era home in Jaffa's historic Old City (Kikar Kidumim).

Taking cues from the home's existing architecture, while relating them to Kitahara's Japanese heritage and years of training, the spa fuses Arabic and Asian influences in a succinct way. The duo combined Japanese touches with the retained 300-year-old details, rather than drastically overhauling the space.

The renovation took a year and a half to complete, and was handled by local craftsmen. The team preserved the vaults and arches, and an arched glass vitrage ? the only spot of strong colour in the space.

"It was important for me to do it [the renovation] in a way that would leave the original structure and shape of the Ottoman architecture visible and present, but to give it a minimalistic feel," Kitahara told Dezeen.

Natural plaster covers all of the surfaces, blending the walls with the ceilings to give a unified...