OLIN SANG RUBY UNION INSTITUTE FAMILY SANCTUARY

Oconomowoc, WI

Design Completed 199_

A chapel for a Jewish summer camp / winter retreat in Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee. The hall is set into a small knoll between two existing barn structures such that its floor lies a half-level below a groundline, which gradually falls around it on 3 sides. A tent-like planted roof covers the entirety of the enclosure. In the winter, roof and ground would join together under a common layer of snow, while in Spring and Summer they would stand distinct, as the roof constantly changes its appearance with the flowers of differing seasons. The 2,500 sf program called for a space to accommodate gatherings of 120 people, but which was subdivisible into three smaller areas for worship and bible study in more intimate groups; also included was a place for individual meditation. This imperative of "combined yet separate use" took shape in the design in terms of a) a shaping of the ground to suggest the smaller constituent spaces into which the sanctuary must break down; and b) an acoustical curtain which undulates between the main sanctuary and its 2 flanking seating areas, providing temporary separation between them.

Entrance to the sanctuary is gained from along the southwest flank of the structure, where a flap lifts up gently above the main roof plane to form a canopy over the downward sloping entry path. Immediately alongside it to the right, an earthen ramp (over the bathroom/storage area below) rises toward a promontory which serves as an place of private contemplation. The procession to the hall itself from the entry mimics the zig-zag of the overall spatial organization: upon arriving in the vestibule, one reverses course while descending a ramp past a display case on the right and shoe and coat shelving on the left. Further along on the left, lining the rear end of the building, are low shelves where prayer caps, scarves and prayer books are accessed in preparation for prayer. The path doubles back again, opening to the sanctuary itself at the vertex of a "V" that opens eastward toward Jerusalem. Two similarly-shaped side areas open laterally onto the middle space, joined to it by means of wood platforms which pitch slightly from each side toward the center, allowing for the congregants sitting upon them to face one another.

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