an architect and a congregant . He wanted to encourage the community to feel comfortable and at home at the Shul whilst still respecting the gravitas of the building as a place of worship . Originally the older design made the space feel more formal and this was at odds with the relaxed feeling of community that it was meant to portray .
As this particular shul has a modern congregation , the community was generally very receptive to the new design and embraced the changes but as with any project involving a number of stakeholders , the process was challenging for the design team .
Executed in high relief , the Linksfield Shul stands today as a signifier not only of a new and prevailing identity for synagogues around the world , but also as a physical embodiment of the progressive undercurrents currently coming to influence our understandings of space and relational connection .
Linksfield Shul 63