TOGETHER AS ONE TWO MERGED MASSACHUSETTS CONGREGATIONS COME TOGETHER TO CREATE THEIR NEW HOME |
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Two Reform congregations in Worcester, Massachusetts agreed to merge, sell the larger, older synagogue building and renovate the smaller, newer building as their new home. The existing building, a modest, austere, modernist structure built in 1980 was located on a beautiful wooded site. Brawer & Hauptman, following a comprehensive planning study and a congregational charrette, designed an updated, warm, welcoming space that both congregations felt they had created together. |
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| | A New Worship Space Charged with "bringing the outside in" and making "inspired sacred space", the architects removed all elements that blocked existing windows and added even more, traded fixed pews for flexible seating, lowered the bema and made the Ark wheelchair accessible. The simple, but dramatic design features 18 suspended wing-like wood assemblies that spring from the Ark and soar out over the congregation. | | |
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| | Bema Furnishings The use of natural wood, rustic stone and soft earth tones throughout the design helped to reinforce the feeling of being part of the surrounding wooded site. The reader's table, candle table and Torah stand were all designed to work together with the Ark as an integrated collection of liturgical pieces that reflect the congregation's values. | | |
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Honoring the Past... An important debate during the design process involved how to honor some of the most beloved and meaningful artifacts from the original buildings. The Arks from both buildings had special meaning, and there was much discussion about which Ark would occupy the sacred position on the bema of the renovated sanctuary... |
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...Celebrating the Future ...The congregation decided that the old Arks would each hold an honored place in the new synagogue -- one in the new Beit Midrash and the other's doors flanking the display of Haftarah scrolls in the new lobby -- and there would be a new Ark in the sanctuary that they had designed together. |
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| | As part of the design process, the architects led a congregation-wide design charrette that gave congregants a role and a voice in the design of their new synagogue. Over 60 people participated in an all-day workshop where small groups explored different aspects of the design and presented them to their fellow congregants. | | |
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| | The architects were inspired by the congregation's vision of a building that would transform their arrival from "the secular to the sacred". For us, that meant creating a spiritual beacon; seeing the warm glow of welcoming light, visible through the trees. | | |
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