sukkah city competition

‘sukkah city’

‘sukkah city‘, initiated by freelance journalist joshua foer, is an upcoming competition that challenges architects, designers and artists to re-imagine the design of an ancient jewish ritual symbol: the sukkah. biblical in origin, the sukkah, singular for sukkot, is an ephemeral, elemental shelter, erected for one week each fall, in which it is customary to share meals, entertain, sleep, and rejoice.

some of the construction restrictions of a sukkah

for millennia, the appearance of a sukkah has not deviated very far from its traditional three walls of varying dimensions and a roof made of organic materials such as palm fonds, sugarcane, or cornhusks. the structure itself adheres to very strict construction constraints. however, foer hopes that it will motivate participants to explore their creative ideas even more.

twelve finalists will be selected by a panel of architects, designers, and critics to be installed in union square park from september 19-21, 2010. one structure will be chosen by new yorkers to stand throughout the week-long festival of sukkot as the official sukkah of new york city.

competition icons explaining construction constraints