By Symi Rom-Rymer
When I think about sukkahs—which I admit is not that often—it is rarely in architectural or even creative terms. As a child, around late fall, they would just appear, typically made out of unbleached wood and long branches, in someone’s backyard or on the synagogue roof. Pretty boring really. The true excitement would come when the people arrived to fill it, arms full of dishes to share and enjoy with one another.
Well, Sukkah City, an international design contest, is looking to change all that. Playing with the paradox of transience and rootedness that the sukkah represents, they have invited architects from around the world to take the biblical design framework, place it in an urban setting, and propose a reimagined sukkah. The winning design will stand in Union Square Park in New York City during Sukkot.
Which one could you imagine yourself in? Visit New York Magazine’s website and vote for your favorite. Here is mine.
Symi Rom-Rymer writes and blogs about Jewish and Muslim communities in the US and Europe. She has been published in JTA, The Christian Science Monitor and Jewcy.
