SRQ Magazine | 4Walls Design Competition | Temple Beth Israel Renovation - Solstice Planning and Architecture

TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL RENOVATION - SOLSTICE PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE

GOLD Future Buildings

4WALLS Design Competition - December 2022

Home to a growing community of both religious and secular users, Temple Beth Israel is located in Longboat Key and is currently fundraising for its existing building’s expansion and redesign. The challenge of this design is to modernize the Reform temple and incorporate a new education center, transforming a 1970’s ranch-style building into a timeless center for members, students, visitors, and staff. The Longboat Key Education Center previously stood as its own entity but struggled through the recent severe economic conditions. Instead of permanently closing down, they were invited to merge with the Temple, extending the life of an important, local 35-year institution. To achieve these goals, the architect balanced rationalism and romanticism to create a contemporary design that brings communities of all kinds together. As Temple Beth Israel caters to both religious and secular users, the client/ architect envisioned adaptive spaces to cater to a host of community needs. Currently, the social hall holds 130 people with not much room to grow. With this redesign, the social hall will hold up to 200 people, perfect for high holidays and other social events. Moveable walls will also be installed, creating flexible spaces that encourage integration rather than separation and making events more manageable. Smart building technology will also be explored to create a central system for lighting, security, doors, sound system, and A/C, keeping the building efficient and easy to manage. Bringing Longboat Key’s lifelong education center into the Temple, the architect redesigned the west side of the Temple to make room for a wide variety of learning opportunities. The new education center will build on the existing one, revamping the current exclusive entrance to attract new users. Inside, the lobby is composed of a large open space with high ceilings and more moveable walls. Further into the space, users have access to new classrooms, multipurpose spaces, a choir room, and a library. These spaces will offer a diverse and stimulating array of courses, lectures, concerts, and workshops. The bathrooms are also upgraded to meet current ADA standards across the entire building. Through this updated design and interinstitutional collaboration, Temple Beth Israel and the Longboat Key Education Center will both become an even greater island landmark –bringing together community members for worship, education, social connection, and culture. The result is a modernized and unified atmosphere where light, form, and ambiance merge to provide an exceptional, uplifting experience.

Architect

SOLSTICE Architecture and Planning