sukkah city was an invitation to reimagine the sukkah – a temporary structure created for use for one week during the jewish festival of sukkot, as a symbol of the transience of life and dependence on god, and to foster a reconnection with nature. the international competition received 600 entries from 43 countries; a jury of 14 designers selected 12 works as finalists. those pieces lived temporarily, appropriately, in union square for 2 days, on september 19-20. a "people's choice" winner will remain in the square through october 2.
from an architectural standpoint, this presented an interesting design challenge, both conceptually and formally, with its strict parameters regarding size (it must enclose a minimum square area of at least 7 x 7 square handbreadths), dimension (at least 3 walls, but the third doesn’t have to be complete; if it has only 2 complete walls “the third wall of at least 4 handbreadths" must be within at least 3 handbreadths of one the complete walls), materials (no bundles of straw for the roof, though individual sticks may be okay. the roof may also not be made of utensils or food). questions of orthodoxy apparently factored into the voting--at least for the people's choice competition-- just as heavily as the innovative design elements.
as public art it seemed to serve its function: to inspire engagement, calm, thoughtfulness, curiosity, crowds, education...and photography.
here are a few shots from monday afternoon:
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