Louis I. Kahn's Jewish architecture
Subtitle: Mikveh Israel and the midcentury American synagogue
By: Susan G. Solomon.
Edition: 1st ed.
Series: Brandeis series in American Jewish history, culture, and life
Publisher: University Press of New England
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Hanover, N.H
Language: eng
Number of pages: 215
ISBN-13: 9781584657880
Subjects: Kahn, Louis I., -- 1901-1974 -- Criticism and interpretation; Congregation Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pa.); Unbuilt architectural projects -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia; Synagogue architecture -- United States; Architecture -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Description: In 1961, famed architect Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974) received a commission to design a new synagogue. His client was one of the oldest Sephardic Orthodox congregations in the United States: Philadelphia's Mikveh Israel. Due to the loss of financial backing, Kahn's plans were never realized. Nevertheless, the haunting and imaginative schemes for Mikveh Israel remain among Kahn's most revered designs. Susan G. Solomon uses Kahn's designs for Mikveh Israel as a lens through which to examine the transformation of the American synagogue from 1955 to 1970. She shows how Kahn wrestled with issues that challenged postwar Jewish institutions and evaluates his creative attempts to bridge modernism and Judaism. She argues that Kahn provided a fresh paradigm for synagogues, one that offered innovations in planning, decoration, and the incorporation of light and nature into building design.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.