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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Cloudhaus in New York City by Art MeadowSeptember 19th, 2012 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Matthew Hoffman CLOUDHAUS takes the rich history and deep meaning associated with Sukkahs and reimagines their role in today’s history. The divine shelter of the Clouds of Glory elevated the Jews to a level of pure holiness, or Kedusha, and the Sukkah does the same. During Sukkot we are not merely reminded of the Clouds of Glory and our potential to attain Kedusha, we are temporarily elevated to that very same level.  Image Courtesy Art Meadow
 Image Courtesy Art Meadow The physical frailty of the Sukkah serves as a reminder of the nomadic structures, which served as a physical protector from the desert, constructed from materials at hand. The element which truly completes the Sukkah is the S’chach, the virgin organic material that has traditionally been used for the roofing. The use of this material recreates the necessity of using available materials during the Exodus, and also references the tradition of Sukkot as a harvest festival. The use of these leftover organic materials for the roof makes sense in an agrarian society, however, in our post-agrarian society we no longer have an explicit connection to the harvest process. Our lack of knowledge and experience with the harvest makes it impossible to fully understand the importance of this harvest festival.  Image Courtesy Art Meadow By re-examining the S’chach, the essence of the Sukkah, and developing a new definition of the S’chach in terms of modern society, it is possible to redefine the most important aspect of the Sukkah and revive the Sukkah as a physical manifestation of God’s protection, constructed by an economy of means and materials, using items not typically used in construction to create our Sukkah.  Image Courtesy Art Meadow In today’s consumer society, the most available, non-expensive material, is our trash. The leftover waste that we create on a daily basis can be re-appropriated to construct a new, immersive Sukkah. This is not as radical a departure in creating the S’chach as it seems, the traditional use of organic materials [non-edible, non-usable] was the leftover material from the harvest which preceded the festival. By reassessing what materials it is that are “leftover” and utilizing these in the construction of a Sukkah, it is possible to re-emphasis the importance of the festival and maintain its connection and reflection of our daily lives.  Image Courtesy Art Meadow  Image Courtesy Art Meadow  Image Courtesy Art Meadow  Image Courtesy Art Meadow
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