Sukkah Design Contest Announces Judging Panel

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – The Leichtag Foundation announces a prominent panel that will judge the Sukkot at the Ranch Design Competition, now accepting submissions through August 24. Judges include: Rob Wellington Quigley , San Diego architect most known for the New Central Library; Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times architecture critic; Mia Lehrer , Los Angeles-based landscape architect and urban designer; Davidson Norris, New York-based architect and daylighting designer and Jessica Lee Vences, one of last year’s winning designers from a team at the NewSchool of Architecture + Design.

Designers of all backgrounds are invited to participate and reimagine the ancient temporary structure known as a Sukkah, which has been built during the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot since biblical times. Design submissions are being accepted now through August 24. The judging panel will convene on August 27 to select three designs from the pool of submissions to be constructed by volunteers at The Ranch, located at 441 Saxony Road in Encinitas, Calif., on October 5, 2014. The three structures will serve as center stage for a weeklong celebration of Sukkot at the Ranch from October 8-17, 2014.

The Sukkah is traditionally erected for one week each autumn to commemorate the holiday of Sukkot, in celebration and gratitude of the harvest.  It is customary, within the temporary walls of the Sukkah, to share meals, entertain, and rejoice.

The three finalist teams will receive a $2,500 materials budget . Judges will award $3,600 to the winning design team , selected by public vote. This year’s themes are release and renewal, and the canvas to express these themes is the Sukkah. Each Sukkah is required to adhere to the following guidelines: the structure must be temporary; it must have at least two-and-a-half walls; it must be big enough to contain a table and most of a person’s body; and it must have a roof made of shade-providing organic materials through which a person can see the stars. For the entry form and full contest details, click here .

The Ranch was purchased by the Leichtag Foundation in December 2012; it is a 67.5 acre property that is a cultural and community platform within an agricultural framework.