House of the Book, Simi Valley, Calif., 1973
1973
Sidney Eisenshtat
The House of Book is a synagogue built for the Brandeis-Bardin Institute on the American Jewish University campus in Simi Valley, CA. Designed by Sidney Eisenshtat, it is one of many synagogues and educational facilities for Jewish universities built by the architect. Eisenshtat graduated from USC in 1935 and initially designed large government structures and corporate projects before turning to religious buildings in the postwar period. He designed House of Book as a monumental concrete structure of integrated cylinders enveloped by large, curving concrete walls. Spaces evoke an almost otherworldly feel as one moves through twisting corridors and breakout rooms illuminated by stained glass. Indeed, the building has been used as a filming site for sci-fi movies and television shows.
At once suggestive of both ancient architectural traditions and also futuristic imaginings, the building is ripe for photographic interpretations. Wayne Thom emphasizes the building’s spiritual qualities, the defensiveness of massive concrete walls working in tandem with illuminated moments for erudite contemplation, both reflective, architectural historian James Steele suggests, of the Jewish experience. Thom’s photographs are also provocative in their use of scale, particularly when he portrays the structure from a vast distance allowing it to be dwarfed by open meadows and surrounding mountains. In these photos, the structure seems to emerge as a pilgrimage site over Simi Valley’s rolling hills.
References:
James Steele, ed., Sidney Eisenshtat, Volume 3 of Monographs, USC Architectural Guild Press, 2012.
“Sidney Eisenshtat”, Los Angeles Conservancy, web.
Sidney Eisenshtat, Sidney Eisenshtat, Los Angeles, CA: Architectural Guild Press, University of Southern California, School of Architecture, 2012.
Samuel D. Gruber, “Sidney Eisenshtat, 90, Leading Synagogue Architect,” Forward, April 1, 2005.