KSG: synagogue and community centre

In the new synagogue and community centre for the Jewish community of Ulm, KSG have opted for a compact, limestone-clad volume, where a striking perforated window allows light to pour inside the prayer spaces.

German architects Kister Scheithauer Gross (KSG) have recently completed a synagogue and community centre for the Jewish community of Ulm. Both programs are included in one single building, at 24 meters wide, 16 deep and 17 meters high, located in a historical site, close to the city's forme synagogue. "In the Kristallnacht in 1938, the former synagogue, which was enclosed in a road side development, was destroyed," explains KSG partner and architect in charge of the project Susanne Gross. "After World War II, a secular building was constructed in the space. The synagogue and the Jewish community lost its ancestral place in the centre of Ulm." The new synagogue seeks to reclaim its location. "With no constructed borders, it stands abrupt and solitary on the Weinhof," remarks Gross.

The continuous, homogeneous structure gathers all spaces within: foyer, synagogue, Mikvah (ritual bath), meeting hall, school and administrative rooms as well as a child day care centre with an enclosed outdoor playing area, located directly above the sacral room. Most of the spaces are arranged orthogonally, while the synagogue is diagonally positioned, facing southeast, the direction of Jerusalem. This particular layout allows for a corner window in the sacral room, where 600 openings shaped like the Star of David create a striking pattern which allows light to pour inside the space, focusing on the Torah shrine.

Kister Scheithauer Gross architects and urban planners, synagogue and community centre, Ulm, Germany 2012

The prayer room can accomodate up to 125 people, including 40 spaces in the women's gallery. Interior fittings of the synagogue are partially based on KSG designs, such as the dodecagon holder, a symbol for the twelve lines of the people of Israel. Rabbi Shneur Trebnik, together with the IRGW representatives, selected the seating and ordered the construction of the Torah shrine, including the bimah, a raised platform with a lectern, from which the Torah is dictated. All three elements were constructed in Israel.

Kister Scheithauer Gross architects and urban planners: synagogue and community centre
Client: Israelite Religious Community of Württemberg
Architects: Kister Scheithauer Gross architects and city planners, Cologne (KSG)
Design/responsible partner: Susanne Gross
Project manager, artistic director: Grzegorz Rybacki
Team: Fritz Keuten, Matthes Langhinrichs, Stefan Schwarz, Paul Youk
Project management: NPS Bauprojektmanagement GmbH, Ulm
General contractor: Matthäus Schmid Bauunternehmen GmbH & Co. KG, Baltringen
Structural analysis: W.Naumann & Partner, Köln
Thermo gravimetric analysis: ZWP AG, Köln
Acustica: ISRW Dr.-Ing. Klapdor GmbH, Düsseldorf
Building physics: Ing.-Büro für Bauphysik Heinrichs, Köln
Fire safety: BFT Cognos, Aachen
Completion: December 2012
Total built area: 1,980 square metres
Cost: 4,6 million euro

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KSG: synagogue and community centre

In the new synagogue and community centre for the Jewish community of Ulm, KSG have opted for a compact, limestone-clad volume, where a striking perforated window allows light to pour inside the prayer spaces.

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