With 600 participants from 43 countries, the Sukkah City competition has challenged designers across the globe to try their hand at making a temporary structure fusing a traditional religious festival with contemporary architectural strategies. We’ve shared several different proposals for the competition with you, but don’t forget that your vote at NYMag.com will determine which structure will be displayed until October 2, in Union Square.
The 12 finalists represent a dozen eccentric interpretations of the sukkah, a temporary hut for the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. Perhaps you prefer Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello’s ‘Sukkah of the Signs’ which is constructed from hundreds of cardboard signs, or maybe you favor Henry Grosman and Babak Bryan’s ‘Fractured Bubble’, a dynamic volume of simple materials whose sections are rotated around a common datum. Or, maybe the minimalistic ‘Shim Sukkah’ by tinder, tinker embodies your version of the perfectly calming space – then again, maybe the movement personified in Dale Suttle, So Sugita, and Ginna Nguyen’s ‘Gathering’ is more your style.
Whatever your pick, be sure to cast your vote here! The 12 structures will be erected in Union Square on September 19 and 20, and the winning design will be on view until October 2, 2010. And, this competition keeps getting better as the Housing Works will be auctioning off the 12 sukkahs with all proceeds funding local homelessness initiatives.
Check out more information on NYMag.com.
