The New Synagogue at dresten

Although not an memorial the building is designed on a site which used to have a synagougue which is jewish place of worship designed  by German master-architect Gottfried Semper, Dresden's main synagogue was constructed between 1838 and 1840. The beautiful building, which served as the primary worship location for Dresden's Jews, lasted for nearly 100 years before the dreadful night when it was burnt to the ground.

Known as Kristallnacht, the evening of November 9-10, 1938 saw the destruction of hundreds of buildings in Dresden, including the city's synagogues. Nazi arsonists saw to it that any properties owned by Dresden's Jews were destroyed in a night of terror that many would never forget during their lifetimes.

During World War II and the reign of Hitler and his regime, Dresden's Jewish population was reduced from 6,000 to about 50. It was decades before Jews would return to the embattled city. However, by the last decade of the 20th century, the Jewish population began growing once again in Dresden, with many of these new residents being immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

On November 9th, 2001, exactly 63 years after Kristallnacht, Dresden's revitalized Jewish community dedicated a new synagogue, situated at the site of the main synagogue, which burned on that fateful evening. It is said that one can still observe the glass shards in the ground at the new site, left from the destruction of the original synagogue.

The new building, designed by architectural firm Wandel, Hoefer, Lorch, and Hirsch, is a cubic structure with no windows; its architectural form is based on the first Israelite temples.

Dresden is characterised by two destructions: Gottfried Semper´s synagogue in the “Reichskristallnacht” on 9th of november 1938 and the entire historical city on 13th and 14th february 1945 by allied bombings. The destructions are historically linked. Yet the architectural consequences couldn`t be more different. On the one hand Dresden reproduces the historical monuments establishing a false continuity and a problematic pretension of architectural stability.

On the other hand the new synagogue represents an attempt which investigates the conflict between stability and fragility, between the permanent and the temporary, the temple and the tabernacle.

Inserted in the sloped topography of the site a central courtyard acts as a connecting element between the various uses of the synagogue and the community centre. The physical coherence is maintained by the use of a continious material (precast concrete stones with sand aggregates). Each building however has a character of its own.: The synagogue is a concentrated place of worship and meditation. The community centre refers to the urban fabric and creates a new entrance situation to the centre of the city.

Exploring the implications of stability and fragility the architecture of the synagogue is characterized by a material dualism: a monolithic structure of precast concrete stones and an interior structure of metallic textile . The twisting stone structure of the synagogue follows the geometry of the site and the requirement of an orientation towards the east.

In contrast to the monolithic structure, the interior of the synagogue is framed by a smooth metallic textile. Suspended from a concrete ceiling grid it constitutes the basic space of worship. The brass textile,developed with a clothing manufacturer, provides a specific auratic light. 

The architects understanding of the context of the design and the represention in a simple yet striking way in the design in terms of lining the past and present