October 20, 2021

Photo by Joshua Zinder, AIA

Sukkah Village Is A Success! 

About Sukkah Village 2021

In partnership with the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, and sponsored by AIA New Jersey, Joshua Zinder Architecture + Design hosted Sukkah Village 2021, an exhibit in Princeton, New Jersey offering participants the chance to present innovative and original designs for a Sukkah that built by an individual or group, using materials and building methods that are sustainable and easily available.

 

These photos credited to Michael Slack

Eleven Sukkahs, a traditional Judaic shelter, designed by high-profile architecture and design firms and NJIT competition winners, were displayed on public sites around Downtown Princeton. Special programming throughout the 10-day event included panel discussions, walking tours, a film screening, and family-friendly arts & crafts.

Participants and entires included Celestial Tensility and Windowed Sukkah by NJIT Student teams, Exodus Erosion by HDR, Illuminated Origami and Nested Sukkah by Joshua Zinder Architecture and Design, Communal Convergence by KSS, Traversing Planes by Michael Graves Architecture and Design, Sukkah Drash by Michael Landau, Pallet Hive by Mills + Schnoering, Tree as Shelter by Seth A. Leeb, Architect and Rising From Ashes by Studio Hillier. 

Photos credited to Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA

The event promoted the impact of design in addressing key social issues impacting New Jersey and the nation as a whole, such as homelessness, food insecurity, sustainability, and the struggles of refugees worldwide.

About The Auction

At the end of Sukkot, each built Sukkah was auctioned off to raise money for an assigned charity. The eleven structures raised a total of $9,700! See the results HERE. 

From the Participants

According to Meredith Arms Bzdak, PhD, Partner at Mills + Schnoering Architects, LLC (M+Sa), “M+Sa was very happy to be able to participate in the Sukkah Village design exhibit and competition. We had been considering opportunities for such competitions for the last several years, and the Sukkah Village seemed ideal. Through the last year and a half, our ability to collaborate and work collectively was strained by COVID, and the Sukkah project brought us back together in a way that was fun, educational, and meaningful. It allowed us to see a project through from the initial design concept to construction and installation in a compressed period of time, giving some of our junior staff a chance to witness firsthand how design ideas are translated into built form. It enabled us to think creatively, with a specific goal in mind, and within established program and budget parameters. Ultimately, it allowed us to share in a collective endeavor with our local peers, to give back to our community, and to engage more deeply with some of our clients, most notably the Nassau Presbyterian Church (our site host) and the Trenton Soup Kitchen (our selected charity). We feel strongly that the lessons learned from the Sukkah Village project will have a lasting and extremely positive impact on the way in which we work.” The above slideshow features M+Sa’s sukkah and images are courtesy of M+Sa. 

Click THIS LINK for all the details on the 2021 event. 

By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in Members & the Community | Tagged: #HDR, #JoshuaZinderAIA, #MeredithArmsBzdakPhD, #MichaelGravesArchitectureAndDesign, #MichaelLandau, #MillsandSchnoering, #MillsSchnoeringArchitects, #PrincetonNJ, #SethLeebAIA, #StudioHillier, #SukkahVillage, KSS, NJIT | Comments (0)