The symbolic synagogue, which was erected on the site of the massacre of the Jews of Kiev in Babi Yar, won first place in the category of cultural sites for 2021
, on behalf of the British Journal of Architecture and Design "Disneyen Awards".
The competition, which took place online, was attended by about 53,000 people from all over the world.
The impressive synagogue, created by the renowned architect Manuel Hertz, which was established on the initiative of the "Center for Holocaust Remembrance in Avi Yar", was inaugurated about six months ago, on Holocaust Martyrs 'and Heroes' Remembrance Day. The place has two main uses - a prayer space and a memorial stand. It was built in the Valley of Killing, which became a mass grave for about 100,000 Jews in Kiev and the surrounding area, and was designed as a "folding" structure, an existing doubt, a disappearing doubt, imbued with chilling symbolism.
The architectural idea of the building was formulated inspired by a prayer book, and it was opened manually, similar to a book. When it is closed, the building looks like a sealed book, and when it is opened, a three-dimensional space of the interior of the synagogue, which has only two walls, is opened to the visitor, as well as a ceiling that is deployed within a few minutes. The walls of the building are made of old, centuries-old pieces of oak, collected from abandoned buildings throughout Ukraine.
The interior space of the synagogue was inspired by two ancient synagogues from the towns of Khodorov and Guizdka in western Ukraine, which were destroyed on their communities during the Holocaust, and bears ornaments and prayer words typical of wooden synagogues that were common in the area.
On the ceiling of the building are stars that accurately recreate the night sky of Kiev on September 29, 1940, the first day of the massacre of Avi Yar.
The opening and closing of the "book" is made possible thanks to a special mechanical mechanism, developed for the purpose of the project and compares to a dynamic structure that does not characterize synagogues.
At the same time, the rapid opening marks the eternity of the Jewish faith and the Nazis' failure to know the Jewish people.
According to architect Manuel Hertz, this is a very important element in the whole work: "The building does not impose itself on the area, but in a sense, it has a very delicate access to the complex. After all, it is an almost sacred complex."
