You can see a lot about pre-World War II synagogue architecture on this web site… but what does it take to design a synagogue today?
Only a small number of new synagogues have been built in Europe in recent decades. Often they stand of the site of synagogues destroyed in World War II. Notable new synagogues include those in Graz, Austria; Livorno, Italy; Ulm, Mainz and Munich, Germany; Liberec, Czech Republic; and Siofok, Hungary (believed to be the only modern new synagogue built in a post-war Communist state).
Plans for a proposed new synagogue in Dessau-Rosslau, Germany, were unveiled at the end of February, a round-walled structure like a squat upright column, with many thin vertical windows and a low dome, that would occupy the site of the ornate synagogue destroyed on Kristallnacht, November 1938. Costs for the project are estimated at €2.5 million.
Meanwhile, the Huffington Post runs an article about the American designer/architect Michael Landau, who is credited with building or renovation designs for more than 50 clients.
Landau divides his time between Princeton, where he partners with architect Joshua Zinder [Landau | Zinder], and Chicago, where three of his grandchildren are and where he works with another synagogue/church designer, Paul Harding [Landau | Harding]. The synagogue design world is a small fraternity.
The business now consists of about 20-30 potential projects in the United States annually, and is about 80% modification/renovation of existing structures, and 20% new construction. He [says] that the business is contracting, rather than expanding across the board, with the exception of Orthodox synagogues.
Even then, many projects get started but then are not completed most often due to lack of funding. He has had experiences like this with projects in Plano, TX and Kansas City, KS; and the rebuilding of a synagogue destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, MS.
