 |
|
 |
||||||
|
||||||
The Ner Tamid (eternal light) Synagogue required a small chapel for daily prayers. The chapel focus is the bimah, akin to an altar, where the Torah scrolls are held in a hovering wood ark, reminiscent of the Old Testament Ark that housed the Ten Commandment tablets. The ark hangs from a steel armature supported by anthropomorhic wood buttresses, evoking the men who carried the Ark through the desert in biblical times. Suspended above the bimah’s limestone floor, the ark is centered directly over a shallow depression filled with sand from Israel. Figurative “men,” the wood buttresses, carry the ark on their shoulders across a figurative “desert,” sand brought from “The Holy Land” by synagogue members. This metaphor is completed by attention to daylight. The ark is backlit, frameless panels of sandblasted glass, creating a halo of glowing light symbolizing the “Schinah,” or spirit of God. With the neighborhood surroundings thus obscured, yet the ark still basking in abundant light, the figurative desert is further evoked. The congregation of Ner Tamid (eternal light) Synagogue, called for a small chapel for daily prayers. An alternate chapel offered a more intimate setting, desirable as the main sanctuary, with over 300 seats, was awkward for a small group of 15 people. This small chapel is located adjacent to the main sanctuary, in what was an existing rectangular anteroom. The focus of the room is towards the bimah (akin to an altar), where the torah scrolls are held in a hovering wooden ark reminiscent of the Ark in the Old Testament where the Ten Commandment tablets were housed. The ark hangs from a steel armature, supported by wooden anthropomorphic buttresses. The ark is suspended over a shallow depression in the raised limestone floor of the bimah, which contains sand from “The Holy Land” brought back by members of the congregation. The ark hangs in front of three glowing panels of day lit obscured glass, surrounded with light to symbolize the “Schinah” or spirit of God. TOP |
© 2004-07 LOCUS Architecture, Ltd.