Hasta La Ideas

When it comes to sacred spaces in Soho, we think of the Mercer Hotel and Deitch Projects, but a hip, young rabbi has other ideas. Dovi Scheiner recently signed a 12-year lease on a five-story Crosby Street building that he intends to transform into the home of his hipster house of worship, the Soho Synagogue. According to The New York Observer‘s Dana Rubinstein (in an article that appears in the paper’s October 12 issue but not online), the 32-year-old rabbi “employs a modern aesthetic to attract [Soho]’s hip, and often lapsed, Jewish set.” The Soho Synagogue has called a series of temporary locations home since its founding in 2005, and settling down means thinking big. Tel Aviv-born, Eindhoven-educated, and New York-based Dror Benshetrit (pictured at right) is designing the new space, which is expected to open this spring. Rubinstein describes his design for the temple as calling for “one space that can transition into several different uses: prayer, lecture, lounge, dinner, movie, gallery, and family.” Sounds like a job for the Dror for Target modular shelving unit!

Previously on UnBeige: