Phillip Katz Project Development Blog

Phillip Katz has been selected by the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) to present at the URJ Biennial Conference being held this year in Washington DC.

Katz will be presenting at a lecture and workshop dealing with the design of Jewish Sacred Space. The title of the presentation: ‘Sacred Space: Bringing Heaven Down to Earth’.

The presentation will include a survey of the history, typology, and tradition of sacred space and liturgical architecture. Architects most often talk about the functional aspects of buildings and less about the passions that influenced and inspired it, the design process is a constant interplay between the poetic and the functional, in sacred architecture the balance must be found that creates a transformational experience. The Torah gives form and shape to the matter of the world. There are Jewish law as derived from the old testament that are a code for human conduct and outline laws that effect everything in life including synagogue architecture.