Author Archives: Warwick Mihaly

Hi all,

You are to divide yourselves into research pairs and each pair investigate two synagogues, one aged at least 100 years, and the other less than 100 years. Start with the basics: when were the two built and where are / were they located? Who were their architects and who are / were their congregations? Continue with a more detailed investigation: how big are they and how many people do they fit? What materials do they use and how do they use them? What orientations do they have? What programme components do they include and how are they arranged? Does the site have any impact on their form?

Research is to prepare case study discussion of both synagogues. Selection of the synagogues will be on a first-come first-serve basis: each pair will lock in their choice via the comments below for approval and to let the rest of the studio group know that they have been nominated. The studio group should collectively aim to canvass a variety of eras, regions and styles.

Presentations will take place during the studio session on Monday the 5^th of August. They are to employ plenty of visual aids – photos, plans, diagrams – and take no more than 10 minutes, with discussion time extra.

Esquisse models

By Warwick Mihaly

July 30, 2013

Organisation

2 Comments

Hi all,

In this assignment, you will produce two physical models. The models will each have maximum dimensions of 200 x 200 x 200mm and be made from box board only. You are encouraged to steer clear of literal interpretations and focus instead on architectural abstraction, in other words how do your ideas translate into architectural form? The scale of the models is up to you: they could be anything from an architectural detail to a building form to a landscape.

The first model is to explore the intersection of religion and secularism. It should consider what it means to be part of a religious organisation within a secular society, and the reverse: what it means to be part of a secular society within which religious organisations exist. It should also examine the tension that exists at the interface between the two spaces: do they overlap, fracture, merge or synergise?

The second model is to explore your own spirituality and/or religion. Is there such a thing as a spatial representation of your religion? Where might this be? What shape would it assume? What are its characteristics?

All students will discuss their work in progress during the studio session this Friday the 2^nd of August, with final submission due the following Friday the 9^th of August. Final presentations will be to Rabbi Fred Morgan and his colleagues at Temple Beth Israel and go for no more than 5 minutes.