Daniels Faculty alumni Jason van der Burg (MArch 2014), Duncan Sabiston (MArch 2014), Jesse Hao (MArch 2014), Dave Freedman (MArch 2013), and current 3rd year student David Whyte have been invited to display their 2013 People's Choice Award winning Spiral Sukkah from August 30 - September 1 at the Toronto Harbourfront Centre's 2014 Ashkenaz Festival. Visitors will be able to explore and walk inside the modern take on the sukkah, a traditional, temporary Jewish dwelling. The Ashkenaz Festival is one of the largest celebrations of Jewish music and culture anywhere in the world.

The Kehilla Residential Programme invited the team to display their award-winning project at the festival to promote this year's Sukkahville 2014 event, taking place October 14-15 at Nathan Phillips Square, where the Spiral Sukkah will also be on display among this year's finalists. Sukkahville is an open design competition that invites architects, students, artists, builders, and design professionals to reimagine the sukkah with a contemporary language and approach for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

The Spiral Sukkah is a modern structure that addresses the essential nature of dwelling, while also exploring the dichotomies of new and old, open and closed, and temporary and permanent.

The Spiral Sukkah is constructed primarily of steam-bent western red cedar with canvas and twine detailing. The structure nests five fractured “sail” sections that are curved in two directions, bent inward, and rotated around a common center. The sections are connected at their top, where branches circle between them and form an oculus large enough to peer into the night’s sky, yet small enough to shelter its inhabitants from the elements. On the ground, its focal point consists of a larger hand-sanded tree-stump table, surrounded by large stones to further carry its organic theme. Spiral Sukkah’s balanced geometric simplicity aims to promote a calming effect; the stretched fabric envelopes the sail structures to create a soft veil transparent enough to be inclusive, yet dense enough to create a sense of place, and shelter.

And now, you have the chance to own this award-winning structure! The team wants to find a good home for their sukkah which could be used in such ways as a garden pavilion, for performances, a children's play-space or installed in the foyer of a building. All inquiries can be directed to Jason van der Burg at jason@urbanworm.ca

Related news stories:

• Daniels students finalists in the 2013 Sukkahville design competition (September 19, 2013)
• Daniels students and alumnus chosen as finalists in Sukkahville 2013 design competition (July 22, 2013)