New Synagogue Dresden

After the German Reunification in 1989, the will came up to rebuild Dresden's synagogue at the place where Gottfried Semper's first building was destroyed the 9th of November in 1938. In 1997, after an open competition with 57 entries, the Jewish Community of Dresden chose the third-placed entry by Wandel Hoefer Lorch Architects. The finally-executed building consists of two cubes made of coloured concrete with a connecting courtyard in between. The community centre, a partially glazed block, serves administrative purposes and houses a café and a meeting room. On the other side of the courtyard, the synagogue has been designed as a twisted cube. The interior is structured by fine, wooden, built-in furniture and golden metalchain curtains. Daylight penetrates the concrete-gridded roof and adds an atmospheric shimmer to the golden hangings. The New Synagogue was awarded 'Best European Architecture' in 2001.