Manuel Herz Architects has built a new synagogue with a sense of design in a wooded area in Babiyar, Ukraine. Located in the west of Kiev, this place was the site of one of the worst Nazi Massacres. In September 1941, within two days, about 5,000 Jews were slaughtered by German soldiers. In the months that followed, another 100,000 people were killed in the Babiar region. This "bullet massacre" was one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. This timber construction project commemorates the tragic tragedy that took place in this wooded land.
In such a solemn place sits a vibrant Babiard synagogue, which Manuel Hertz Architects fun designed in the style of a body book. In this way, the congregation of the church can gather and read together, conveying the design concept of the space. The pages of this pop-up book are transformed between three different dimensions. When it unfolds from a flat object, a new space is created. When it is closed, the building is a flat vertical structure. When opened manually, the wooden and steel structures unfold in the three-dimensional space of the synagogue. The opening event was a collective ceremony, run by the congregation, a manual exercise with the deliberate absence of an electric motor.
In order to ensure the uniform quality of its material use, the Babiar Synagogue was built using locally sourced Ukrainian wood. The wood used is more than a hundred years old and is a link between the eve of the Holocaust and the present. The walls are decorated with prayers and blessings. A series of symbols and images painted on the ceiling are reminiscent of the interiors of historic Ukrainian synagogues of the 17th and 18th centuries, which were later destroyed. Together, these symbols paint the kiev starry sky on the night of September 29, 1941. For visitors, looking up at the ceiling of this brand-new synagogue creates a subtle connection, reminiscent of the night the Holocaust began.
Project Information:
Project Name: Babiar Synagogue
Architects: Manuel Herz architects
Project Address: Babiyar, Ukraine
Client: Babil Holocaust Memorial Centre (byhmc)
Completion: March 2021