So there are rules. And design, that familiar dance between limits and liberties, thrives with rules that it can simultaneously reinforce and resist. We're accustomed, as architects, to punch-lists and programs that tell us the minimum deliverables. And when we're thinking about the encounter between religious observance and domestic life, we're accustomed to thinking in terms of prohibitionsthe closest adjacent model being the milk-and-meat dietary restrictions and kitchen segregations of many religious traditions, including Judaism. And it's true that the parameters of the sukkah, derived ultimately from descriptions and injunctions in the Bible's book of Leviticus and other substantial texts, do carry for many a lawfulness of practice far heavier than, say, the folkloric traditions of a Christmas Tree. Yet when we look closely at the parameters that describe and define a sukkah, we see that they are neither exclusively prescriptions nor prohibitions. Many of them are surreal speculations about possible "limit conditions." What circumstances must have inspired the ancient debate about whether it's okay to adaptively reuse the side of an elephant as a sukkah wall? (Apparently it is, although the surprising operative variable is whether the animal's height and posture are subject to change.) There's a documented consensus that, with certain caveats, it's okay to use a whale to make a sukkah. Or to build a sukkah on top of a camel. Or on a boat. Or, seemingly impossibly, on top of another sukkah.Read the whole essay here, cause when you're done, you'll probably be inspired to register and enter the competition yourself. Core77 is proud to be a partner of Sukkah City. Sukkah City Registration deadline: July 1 Entry deadline: August 1 Installed in NYC: September 19-21
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.