Bright Lights, Big Sanctuary

Congregation Rodeph Shalom, established in 1795, has a deep rooted history in Philadelphia. In 1866 their first sanctuary was built on the property they still call their home today. In 1928 the congregation’s new rabbi asked that a larger building be created so as to accommodate the worship space and religious school in one site. The congregation obliged and a grander sanctuary was built. This sanctuary retained the Byzantine-Moorish style of the original design, taking inspiration from a synagogue in Florence, Italy. The building’s exterior makes a big bold impression on first glance and is only exceeded when taking in the beautiful architecture and artistry on display inside the sanctuary. Considering its distinguished and recognizable look and its presence in Philadelphia for the last eighty years, Congregation Rodeph Shalom has endeavored to preserve their historic sanctuary over the years.

With the aging of the building, however, and the evolving needs of the congregation in mind, in the early 2000s Congregation Rodeph Shalom undertook the task of renovating their space. They began by renovating and repairing their chapel and once that was finished in 2002 they turned their attention to their historic sanctuary. Rodeph Shalom uses both spaces on a regular basis, depending on the number of people they are expecting to welcome. Rodeph Shalom's immediate past president, Susan Klehr, says being in their smaller chapel, which seats approximately ninety people, is “like being hugged.” So when renovations began on their larger, 1660 capacity sanctuary in 2004, the building committee decided to adapt the sanctuary to provide a more intimate and welcoming setting, hoping to approximate the warm embrace worshipers feel in the chapel.

Being large enough to hold Rodeph Shalom’s growing number of congregants, the sanctuary is a large, almost cathedral-like space – its central dome standing sixty-feet high. Early American Reform worship was less participatory than it is now so this original design, built to inspire awe, was certainly appropriate for its time. For today’s worship style, though, it posed certain challenges to creating an intimate space that would facilitate interactive worship. Several changes were made, including a reconfiguration of the seats, a new home for the bimah and a redesigned lighting system.

When planning for the renovations on the sanctuary began, architects Richard Winston, AIA, DLR Group Becker Winston, lead architect, and Martin Rosenblum, AIA, Martin Jay Rosenblum Associates, preservation architect, discovered the original layout of the pews were not up to today’s fire code. To improve congregants’ mobility among the seats and allow for a safer (not to mention less congested) traffic flow, rows were removed and a wide “row-aisle” was created. The original seating plan had rows upon rows of seats, like one long orchestra section of a theatre, all in a straight line, facing the bimah. The new design, which now seats 1440, called for a separation in the series of rows, thereby creating both front and back seating sections. Past President Susan Klehr says that an added benefit of creating the seating clusters is that they are able to block off certain sections and concentrate worshipers in one area, adding to the sanctuary’s new intimate vibe. Combined with the lighting redesign, (which will be discussed later,) the sectional seating created an intimate space for the congregants participating in weekly Shabbat worship services. (See the before and after floor plans for a visual understanding of the new layout.) In addition to the creation of the row-aisle, the rows themselves were angled toward the bimah, giving the space a more inclusive feel.

floor plan before:                 floor plan after:

The next step in creating the intimate space was lowering the bimah. The original design of the sanctuary boasted a majestic bimah which stood three feet above the sanctuary floor with a monumental ark at its center and choir loft above. Klehr says the sanctuary is their legacy so protecting the historic value of the space was of the utmost importance. The choir loft and ark remained untouched but a second, lower bimah was built without compromising any structural integrity – they simply removed some seats to make room for this second bimah. The bimah now sits much closer to the congregants on a newly built movable platform. This makes the clergy more accessible to congregants and adds to the intimacy of the space. The bimah was built in sections and can be moved to accommodate extra seating, as necessary. Moreover, this second, lower bimah is more accessible than the original was for people with impaired mobility.

The final piece to the intimacy puzzle was the lighting. Smaller sections and a lower bimah would all be for naught if they were spoiled by bright, unchanging obtrusive lights, so a new lighting design was implemented. Reading lights were installed throughout the sanctuary so congregants could actually see their prayer books and not just the clergy. The more impressive lighting improvement, though, was the new lighting pre-sets created for various worship situations. When a smaller crowd gathers for a Shabbat service, the clergy can press one button and a pre-set lighting design illuminates only the parts of the sanctuary in use. Another design is pre-set for a larger, High Holy Days-size gathering of worshipers, when the sanctuary is full. The many lighting possibilities allow for greater flexibility when creating an intimate space within the large sanctuary and also eliminates (or greatly reduces) the problem of worshipers feeling dwarfed by the enormity of the sanctuary. It should be noted that the new, pre-set lighting designs do not require specific training or advanced know-how to operate. A lighting design professional should be able to help you choose a light system that will work for your congregation. (Other lighting techniques used by the designers, including those techniques which considered how to properly light decorative paintings, will be discussed in part two of Rodeph Shalom’s renovation story.)

Having completed the redesign of the sanctuary, congregants and clergy find their revamped space to be warm and welcoming. While the space did not change drastically from its original form, small changes and improvements went a long way to creating a truly intimate sanctuary space at Congregation Rodeph Shalom.   

interior before:     interior after: 

       
Look for part two of Rodeph Shalom’s renovation journey, focusing on restoring an historic space, later this summer.