When best-selling author Joshua Foer began to build his first sukkah, a small hut that Jews build and dwell in every fall for the holiday of Sukkot, he wanted to move beyond the generic plywood boxes and canvas tents that have become the unimaginative status quo. He discovered that while the Bible outlines the basic
Categories: Sukkot
Added on: June 22, 2018 - More: Comments & Reviews
When best-selling author Joshua Foer began to build his first sukkah, a small hut that Jews build and dwell in every fall for the holiday of Sukkot, he wanted to move beyond the generic plywood boxes and canvas tents that have become the unimaginative status quo. He discovered that while the Bible outlines the basic parameters for what a sukkah should look like and how it should function, it leaves plenty of room for variation and interpretation. Foer thought, ‘what if contemporary architects and designers were challenged to design and construct twelve radical sukkahs? What would they come up with?’ And so was born the design competition known as Sukkah City in Union Square Park, in the heart of New York City.
Chronicling the competition, the film goes behind the scenes during construction, exhibition, and judging to provide an entertaining and inspiring portrait of the project’s visionary architects and structures – an exciting, singular moment in the American Jewish experience.
A different look at a common Jewish structure I saw this movie at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival a year ago and loved it. As a Jew and an engineer, this exercise in combining architecture, art and religion was an interesting idea for those of us used to the normal concept of what a Sukkah should look like. The designs selected, built and displayed in New York’s Union Square ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime, but the selection process and the execution make for a fun little flick. If you’re Jewish, a New Yorker, or both, you…