Sukkahs
by Tommaso Sacconi
portfolio special mention call 'URBANAUTICA INSTITUTE AWARDS 2022', 2022
Category: Representations of Space, Architecture, and Conflicts
In South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, staggered balconies generate diagonal lines over austere building facades. Each fall, over those same balconies, appear Sukkahs, temporary structures built for Sukkot: a Jewish holiday which celebrates the harvest and the exodus from Israel. The reason behind the particular zig-zagging disposition of the balconies has to be found in Jewish law: to be considered Kosher, a Sukkah (among other things) must have a roof that is open to the sky. As a result, in this neighborhood, most of the buildings are built following Kosher architectural standards. If not originally planned, many balconies have been added to existing buildings, generating interesting and often extreme architectural solutions.
This project is a vivid example of how the culture of communities can influence and change the architecture of the spaces they live in.
The selection I am presenting is the result of the three years I lived in the Hasidic neighborhood of South Williamsburg.