The materials used also have a meaning for which they have been chosen for this project, being concrete and rusted metal on the outside, representing the solidity and resilience respectively of the Jewish people. On the inside, wood predominates, providing a sense of comfort as well as good acoustics, essential for a building with this function.
A series of skylights in the ceiling allows light to pass through and, depending on the time of day, offer different chiaroscuros and types of light, creating an atmosphere of weightlessness.
Synagogue UHP by Equipo de Arquitectura. Photograph by Federico Cairoli
Description of project by Equipo de Arquitectura
The project was born as a result of an international competition to rehabilitate an old building that the Unión Hebraica del Paraguay used as a synagogue. The challenge of proposing a space for ceremonies demands a reflection on the religious essence and the culture that surrounds it. Imagining a space for introspection and prayer suggests the creation of silence, where the rite becomes the protagonist.
Analyzing the masterplan and trying to give it the image and space that corresponds to the program, we began the design process by placing two prisms, one as a threshold and the other as a container for the sacred precinct. These two volumes converge at the junction and complement each other, both structurally and morphologically.
The outer shell functions as a safe, controlling access to the synagogue employing metal doors that protect the interior.
This large container is broken down into a first piece that builds the transition of scale and frames the access to the synagogue. The second, larger piece delimits the interior space and marks the presence of the temple. The concept of the first prism within the other is very clear, creating a buffer between the spacious and noisy exterior and the silent and spiritual interior. The steel sunshades manage to create a veil that structures the main entrance and conceals the contents.
The materials used to express its true nature. The exposed concrete demonstrates the solidity and strength that the material represents as a protector of the temple. The rusted metal represents resilience, the ability to overcome all adversity, characteristic of the Jewish community. The wood used in the interior provides shelter, as well as thermal and acoustic comfort. In this way, the exterior is the antithesis of the interior, creating a dichotomy between exterior-interior, cold-warm, and noise-silence.
Natural light enters the interior space through skylights located around the perimeter and in the middle of the truncated pyramids that act as roofs. In this way, the roof appears to be detached from the structure and creates a sensation of weightlessness, generating different chiaroscuros depending on the time of day.
The transformation of old buildings belongs to the series of sustainable criteria that we consider fundamental when creating a new project. Rethinking the existing allows us to propose new alternatives without having to throw away the effort and energy invested in a given place and time.
