© Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz
- Architects: Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects
- Location: 3141 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
- Lead Architects: Stanley Saitowitz (Design Principal), Neil Kaye (Architect of Record), Michael Luke (Project Architect), Steve Sanchez (Project Designer/Manager)
- Landscape: Bohler Engineering
- Area: 13900.0 ft2
- Project Year: 2016
- Photographs: Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz
- Contractor: Bittenbender Construction
- Civil Engineer: Bohler Engineering
- Structural: CVM Engineering Inc.
- Mechanical: Acies Engineering
- Electrical: Acies Engineering
- Plumbing: Acies Engineering
- Audio Visual: Applied Video Technology
© Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz
From the architect. Drexel University’s Hillel House is sheathed in local red brick as textured fabric draped in an abstract menorah that terraces down to the street. Arranged on four interconnected levels, the square building has thickened side walls which contain services, and four central columns which structure the middle, front and rear.
© Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz
The building is organized on four interconnected levels.
Support (services)
The basement contains the kitchens, storage and mechanical areas.
Concept diagram
Action (community)
The street level is dedicated to everyday life, to meeting and talking, siting around a fire, gathering and eating at the rear which opens to a garden.
© Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz
At the center, and connecting the second floor, is a stair, amphitheater, auditorium, with a balcony overlooking it from above. This multilevel courtyard is a multipurpose space at the heart of the building, the pivot of everything.
© Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz
Formation (learning)
The second floor is for focused activities, offices for planning and arranging, rooms for quiet study and discussion, places for groups and gathering, spaces for exploration and learning.
© Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz
Section
© Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz
Worship (divinity)
The top floor is the place of worship, the Shabbat floor, the level of sanctity. The three prayer gatherings, conservative, orthodox and reform, are connected with a central court that opens with a circular cut, an absent dome to the sky above. This is the only view in the city free of the works of man. This absent sanctuary is what is common and connects the three branches of worship in shared faith. The largest room doubles as the library, or Beit Midrash, the House of Learning.
© Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz
By day, light reflects on the woven brick notches, by night light shines from within. This is a space to create a continuing community of traditional values through meeting, learning, and ceremony. This is a place to gather and emanate light.
© Richard Barnes and Stanley Saitowitz