Center for Jewish Life, Drexel University Building, American Architecture, Images
Center for Jewish Life at Drexel University in Philadelphia
Cultural facility in Philadelphia, USA – design by Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects Inc.
17 May 2017
Center for Jewish Life at Drexel University
Design: Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects Inc.
Location: Philadelphia, USA
Center for Jewish Life at Drexel University

Drexel University?s Hillel House is sheathed in local red brick as textured fabric draped in an abstract menorah that terraces down to the street. Arranged on four interconnected levels, the square building has thickened side walls which contain services, and four central columns which structure the middle, front and rear.

 

The building is organized on four interconnected levels:
 

1. Support (services)

The basement contains the kitchens, storage and mechanical areas.

 

2. Action (community)

The street level is dedicated to everyday life, to meeting and talking, siting around a fire, gathering and eating at the rear which opens to a garden.

At the center, and connecting the second floor, is a stair, amphitheater, auditorium, with a balcony overlooking it from above. This multilevel courtyard is a multipurpose space at the heart of the building, the pivot of everything.

 

3. Formation (learning)

The second floor is for focused activities, offices for planning and arranging, rooms for quiet study and discussion, places for groups and ga...