PROFESSIONAL ALLIANCE SPOTLIGHT
Levy Associates
Architects
UNLIKE MOST ARCHITECTS today, Mort Levy does
all of his drafting by hand. A skill that many architects
have lost to computer-aided drafting, this is just one
way that Levy brings an engaged and personal touch to
his work. Passionate about design since high school
(his first job was at an architecture firm), Levy has
been in business for himself since 1963. In 1981, he
started Levy Associates Architects, Inc., which, though
now a solo practice, was, at its peak, an eleven-person
operation. Over the years Levy Associates has worked
for clients as diverse as the Houston Jewish Community
Center and the United States Postal Service.
One of the most rewarding and interesting parts of a
religious project for Levy, in terms of new design, is the
challenge of reusing as much as possible from a former
sanctuary space. Due to the sentimental and spiritual
Levy Associates Architects
310 Richmond Road
Suite 220
Houston, TX 77098
(713) 528-2912
[email protected]
value of many elements of a religious interior, working
to save and reuse these elements is key to Levy’s design
approach. For his first religious project at his own Brith
Shalom Synagogue in Bellaire, TX, Levy was faced with
both a constricted site and an existing building that
had originally been a Baptist church. A prior architect
placed the Ark on the north wall, a consequence of
the building’s layout. “Traditionally, it’s on the east
wall,” Levy pointed out, “so one major decision became
whether or not to tear down the building in order to
reorient the Ark.” In the end, the decision was made to
build anew, but not without first conserving as much as
was possible from the original structure, including the
Ark, the Ner Tamid (the everlasting light), and all of the
stained glass windows. Though now located in a new
building, the reuse of key elements made the synagogue
feel like home.
Levy Associates Architects helpd Congregation Beth Jacob in Galveston, TX, after their synagogue
suffered extensive damge from Hurricane Ike. Seen here is the fully restored chapel. Photo courtesy
of Congregation Beth Jacob.
21 • Sacred Places • www.sacredplaces.org • Summer 2011
Levy noted that one
of the most important
considerations when
designing a religious space
is acoustics, explaining,
“It is