flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

First Look: Center for Hope will welcome world's religious to Jerusalem

First Look: Center for Hope will welcome world's religious to Jerusalem

The space, backed by The Elijah Interfaith Institute, is meant to "bring about world-changing peace and harmony."


By Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership | February 6, 2014

The firm Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership has been selected to design the Center for HOPE, a new, 46,000-sf center in Jerusalem for religious education, cultural sharing and prayer among members of different faith traditions.

Like a United Nations for the religious world, the planned Center for HOPE is conceived by its backers as a place where people of all religions have a welcoming home and a place to help "bring about world-changing peace and harmony," according to The Elijah Interfaith Institute, the project's leader.

Support for the Center for HOPE has come from around the world from financial supporters as well as religious leaders including: the Dalai Lama; Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Austria; Bhai Sahib Bhai Mohinder Singh of the U.K.; Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric, of Bosnia; Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks of the U.K.; and Mata Amritanandamayi Devi of India.

According to Lee H. Skolnick, FAIA, the Center for Hope will be located on Prophets Street near Jerusalem's Old City, designed with symbolic meaning that reflects its redolent location.

 
 

"HOPE stands for 'House of Prayer and Education,' and the Center for HOPE experience is designed to unfold as a journey of peace and ascension," says Skolnick. "It is designed to provide beautiful prayer spaces, museum elements, art exhibition spaces, a library, a hospitality center, and study and lecture rooms for resident scholars."

The ribbonlike, sloping buildings curve around a verdant courtyard with reflecting pools, and feature green roofs and sustainable design elements. The mission of the new center, according to the Elijah Interfaith Institute, is as follows:

"Through prayer, education and cultural sharing, the Center of Hope seeks to bring about transformation in the lives of participants, increased understanding and appreciation between members of different faith traditions and a meaningful contribution to processes of peacemaking, community building and reconciliation between diverse faith communities in Jerusalem, thereby serving as a sign and model for religions and their possible relationships worldwide."

 

 

Related Stories

| May 29, 2012

Reconstruction Awards Entry Information

Download a PDF of the Entry Information at the bottom of this page.

| May 24, 2012

2012 Reconstruction Awards Entry Form

Download a PDF of the Entry Form at the bottom of this page.

| Dec 7, 2011

ICS Builders and BKSK Architects complete St. Hilda’s House in Manhattan

The facility's design highlights the inherent link between environmental consciousness and religious reverence.

| Sep 30, 2011

BBS Architects & Engineers completes welcoming center at St. Charles Resurrection Cemetery

The new structure serves as the cemetery's focal architectural point and center of operations.  

| Mar 11, 2011

Chicago office building will serve tenants and historic church

The Alter Group is partnering with White Oak Realty Partners to develop a 490,000-sf high-performance office building in Chicago’s West Loop. The tower will be located on land owned by Old St. Patrick’s Church (a neighborhood landmark that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871) that’s currently being used as a parking lot.

| Feb 11, 2011

BIM-enabled Texas church complex can broadcast services in high-def

After two years of design and construction, members of the Gateway Church in Southland, Texas, were able to attend services in their new 4,000-seat facility in late 2010. Located on a 180-acre site, the 205,000-sf complex has six auditoriums, including a massive 200,000-sf Worship Center, complete with catwalks, top-end audio and video system, and high-definition broadcast capabilities. BIM played a significant role in the building’s design and construction. Balfour Beatty Construction and Beck Architecture formed the nucleus of the Building Team.

| Feb 11, 2011

Texas megachurch inspired by yesteryear’s materials, today’s design vocabulary

The third phase of The First Baptist Church of Pasadena, Texas, involves construction of a new 115,000-sf worship center addition. Currently in design by Zeigler Cooper, the project will include a 2,500-seat worship center (with circular layout and space for a 50-person orchestra and 200-person choir), a 500-seat chapel (for weddings, funerals, and special events), and a prayer room. The addition will connect to the existing church and create a Christian Commons for education, administration, music, and fellowship. The church asked for a modern design that uses traditional materials, such as stone, brick, and stained glass. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.

| Jan 20, 2011

Worship center design offers warm and welcoming atmosphere

The Worship Place Studio of local firm Ziegler Cooper Architects designed a new 46,000-sf church complex for the Pare de Sufrir parish in Houston.

| Dec 17, 2010

Toronto church converted for condos and shopping

Reserve Properties is transforming a 20th-century church into Bellefair Kew Beach Residences, a residential/retail complex in The Beach neighborhood of Toronto. Local architecture firm RAWdesign adapted the late Gothic-style church into a five-story condominium with 23 one- and two-bedroom units, including two-story penthouse suites. Six three-story townhouses also will be incorporated. The project will afford residents views of nearby Kew Gardens and Lake Ontario. One façade of the church was updated for retail shops.

| Nov 3, 2010

New church in Connecticut will serve a growing congregation

Tocci Building Companies will start digging next June for the Black Rock Congregational Church in Fairfield, Conn. Designed by Wiles Architects, the 103,000-sf multiuse facility will feature a 900-person worship center with tiered stadium seating, a children’s worship center, a chapel, an auditorium, a gymnasium, educational space, administrative offices, commercial kitchen, and a welcome center with library and lounge.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Giants 400

Top 40 Religious Facility Construction Firms for 2023

Crossland Construction, Haskell, Big-D Construction, Whiting-Turner, and JE Dunn Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021