Percival Goodman
Encyclopedia
Percival Goodman was an American
urban theorist
and architect
who designed more than 50 synagogue
s between 1948 and 1983. He has been called the "leading theorist" of modern synagogue design, and "the most prolific architect in Jewish history."
to wealthy parents who were artists. His brother was the noted writer and sociologist Paul Goodman
. In 1925, Percival Goodman received the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects Paris Prize which sent him to the École des Beaux-Arts
in Paris
, France
for architectural training.
In the earlier part of his career, Goodman designed department store
interiors, apartment
s, and country houses. He also had an interest in urban planning
: he submitted a 1930 proposal for the Palace of the Soviets in Moscow
, and proposed a master plan for Long Island City. He was an early critic of Robert Moses
' parkway
plans for New York City, preferring to “improve the center and make livable neighborhoods”; he also criticized the garden city movement
of Ebenezer Howard
and the Ville radieuse of Le Corbusier
.
Goodman called himself "an agnostic
who was converted by Hitler
", and after World War II
he became more interested in Jewish architecture. At a 1947 conference of the Reform Jewish movement, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Goodman advocated the use of modern architecture
for new Jewish buildings, rather than following the models of older churches and synagogues. He quickly began to receive commissions. Many of these were for new buildings in suburban areas reachable only by car, and Goodman responded by using a variety of designs intended to attract motorists' attention. In 1949 his proposal was selected for a large Holocaust
memorial in Manhattan
's Riverside Park
, but it was never built. His student Peter Eisenman
much later completed a Holocaust memorial in Berlin, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
.
His design for B'nai Israel
in Millburn, New Jersey
(1951) has been called "the first truly modern synagogue". Goodman's design for B'nai Israel included sculpture, painting, and ark curtain
design by Herbert Ferber
, Robert Motherwell
, and Adolph Gottlieb
, respectively. This integration of modern sculpture and artworks, along with the use of natural light, became hallmarks of Goodman's work. One critic wrote that Goodman "stressed the human scale in his prayer halls and collaboration with modern artists where expressive symbolism was warranted."
Percival Goodman was also considered a distinguished urban theorist. He was the co-author, with his brother Paul, of the landmark urban planning text Communitas
, and he illustrated editions of a number of his brother's other works. Percival Goodman was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects
. He was a professor at the Columbia University
architecture school for more than 25 years, where notable students included Peter Eisenman. In 2001, Columbia exhibited a retrospective of his works at its Wallach Gallery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
urban theorist
Urban design
Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...
and architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who designed more than 50 synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s between 1948 and 1983. He has been called the "leading theorist" of modern synagogue design, and "the most prolific architect in Jewish history."
Biography
Percival Goodman was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to wealthy parents who were artists. His brother was the noted writer and sociologist Paul Goodman
Paul Goodman (writer)
Paul Goodman was an American sociologist, poet, writer, anarchist, and public intellectual. Goodman is now mainly remembered as the author of Growing Up Absurd and an activist on the pacifist Left in the 1960s and an inspiration to that era's student movement...
. In 1925, Percival Goodman received the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects Paris Prize which sent him to the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for architectural training.
In the earlier part of his career, Goodman designed department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
interiors, apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s, and country houses. He also had an interest in urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
: he submitted a 1930 proposal for the Palace of the Soviets in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and proposed a master plan for Long Island City. He was an early critic of Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
' parkway
Parkway
The term parkway has several distinct principal meanings and numerous synonyms around the world, for either a type of landscaped area or a type of road.Type of landscaped area:...
plans for New York City, preferring to “improve the center and make livable neighborhoods”; he also criticized the garden city movement
Garden city movement
The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by "greenbelts" , containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and...
of Ebenezer Howard
Ebenezer Howard
Sir Ebenezer Howard is known for his publication Garden Cities of To-morrow , the description of a utopian city in which people live harmoniously together with nature. The publication resulted in the founding of the garden city movement, that realized several Garden Cities in Great Britain at the...
and the Ville radieuse of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
.
Goodman called himself "an agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
who was converted by Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
", and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he became more interested in Jewish architecture. At a 1947 conference of the Reform Jewish movement, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Goodman advocated the use of modern architecture
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
for new Jewish buildings, rather than following the models of older churches and synagogues. He quickly began to receive commissions. Many of these were for new buildings in suburban areas reachable only by car, and Goodman responded by using a variety of designs intended to attract motorists' attention. In 1949 his proposal was selected for a large Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
memorial in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Riverside Park
Riverside Park (Manhattan)
Riverside Park is a scenic waterfront public park on the Upper West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The park consists of a narrow four-mile strip of land between the Hudson River and the gently...
, but it was never built. His student Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman is an American architect. Eisenman's professional work is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late or high modernist, etc...
much later completed a Holocaust memorial in Berlin, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe , also known as the Holocaust Memorial , is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. It consists of a site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a...
.
His design for B'nai Israel
Congregation B'nai Israel (Millburn, New Jersey)
B'nai Israel is an architecturally notable Conservative synagogue in Millburn, New Jersey.It was founded in 1924, and hired Max Gruenewald as rabbi in 1946. He had been the rabbi of the Haupt Synagogue in Mannheim, Germany when it was destroyed during the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938. In 1950, two...
in Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,149.Millburn Township was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township.Millburn also...
(1951) has been called "the first truly modern synagogue". Goodman's design for B'nai Israel included sculpture, painting, and ark curtain
Ark (synagogue)
The Torah ark or ark in a synagogue is known in Hebrew as the Aron Kodesh by the Ashkenazim and as the Hekhál amongst most Sefardim. It is generally a receptacle, or ornamental closet, which contains each synagogue's Torah scrolls...
design by Herbert Ferber
Herbert Ferber
Herbert Ferber was an American sculptor and painter, born in New York City. He began his independent artistic studies in New York in 1926 at evening classes at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, while attending Columbia University Dental School...
, Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
, and Adolph Gottlieb
Adolph Gottlieb
Adolph Gottlieb was an American abstract expressionist painter, sculptor and graphic artist.-Biography:Gottlieb was born in New York to Jewish parents. From 1920-1921 he studied at the Art Students League of New York, after which he traveled in France and Germany for a year...
, respectively. This integration of modern sculpture and artworks, along with the use of natural light, became hallmarks of Goodman's work. One critic wrote that Goodman "stressed the human scale in his prayer halls and collaboration with modern artists where expressive symbolism was warranted."
Percival Goodman was also considered a distinguished urban theorist. He was the co-author, with his brother Paul, of the landmark urban planning text Communitas
Communitas
Communitas is a Latin noun commonly referring either to an unstructured community in which people are equal, or to the very spirit of community. It also has special significance as a loanword in cultural anthropology and the social sciences....
, and he illustrated editions of a number of his brother's other works. Percival Goodman was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
. He was a professor at the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
architecture school for more than 25 years, where notable students included Peter Eisenman. In 2001, Columbia exhibited a retrospective of his works at its Wallach Gallery
Ira D. Wallach
Ira David Wallach was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was head of Central National-Gottesman, the largest privately held marketer of paper and pulp products.-Life and career:...
.
Selected buildings
- Florida Tropical HouseFlorida Tropical HouseThe Florida Tropical House is a beach house located on Lake Michigan's shoreline in Beverly Shores, Indiana. The house was originally built in 1933 as part of the Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition during the 1933 World's Fair which took place in nearby Chicago...
, Beverly Shores, IndianaBeverly Shores, IndianaBeverly Shores is a town in Pine Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States, about east of downtown Chicago. The population was 613 at the 2010 census.-History:...
(interiors, with James S. Kuhne) (1933)http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~innwigs/ImageArchive/BeverlyShores/BeverlyShoresImages.htmhttp://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/in/in0300/in0356/data/in0356.pdf - Congregation B'nai IsraelCongregation B'nai Israel (Millburn, New Jersey)B'nai Israel is an architecturally notable Conservative synagogue in Millburn, New Jersey.It was founded in 1924, and hired Max Gruenewald as rabbi in 1946. He had been the rabbi of the Haupt Synagogue in Mannheim, Germany when it was destroyed during the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938. In 1950, two...
, Millburn, New JerseyMillburn, New JerseyMillburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,149.Millburn Township was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township.Millburn also...
(1951) http://www.cbi-nj.org - Congregation Beth IsraelCongregation Beth Israel (Lebanon, Pennsylvania)Congregation Beth Israel is a Jewish congregation located at 411 South Eighth Street in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1907 to provide services for the High Holidays, it was then, and remains today, the only synagogue in the Lebanon area....
, Lebanon, PennsylvaniaLebanon, PennsylvaniaLebanon, formerly known as Steitztown, is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,477 at the 2010 census, a 4.2% increase from the 2000 count of 24,461...
(1953) http://congregation-beth-israel.com/aboutUs.html - Temple Beth Sholom, Miami Beach, FloridaMiami Beach, FloridaMiami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
(1954) http://www.tbsmb.org - Temple IsraelTemple Israel (Tulsa, Oklahoma)Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 2004 East 22nd Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1914, the synagogue affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism in 1915, and constructed its first building on South Cheyenne Street in 1919...
, Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, OklahomaTulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
(1955) http://www.templetulsa.com/pages/tour/tour.phphttp://digital.library.okstate.edu/oktoday/1980s/1980/oktdv30n1.pdf - Temple of Aaron, St. Paul, Minnesota (1956) http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=templeofaaron-streetpaul-mn-usahttp://templeofaaron.org/about_history.html
- Congregation B'nai IsraelCongregation B'nai Israel (Bridgeport, Connecticut)Congregation B'nai Israel is a Reform Jewish synagogue located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Bridgeport and the third oldest in Connecticut....
, Bridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
(1956) - Congregation Beth EmethCongregation Beth Emeth-History:The congregation was formed in 1885 with the merger of a "dwindling" orthodox congregation, Anshe Emeth and a "growing" Reform Congregation, Beth El -Architecture:...
, Albany, New YorkAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
(1957) http://www.bethemethalbany.org/webmail/history/index.cfm - Jewish Community Center of West Hempstead, West Hempstead, New YorkWest Hempstead, New YorkNot to be confused with West Hampstead, London.West Hempstead is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 18,862 at the 2010 census...
-Franklin Square, New YorkFranklin Square, New YorkFranklin Square is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 29,320 at the 2010 census...
(1958) - Fifth Avenue SynagogueFifth Avenue SynagogueThe Fifth Avenue Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 5 East 62nd Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.-Founding:...
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(1959) http://www.5as.org/ - Shaarey ZedekShaarey ZedekCongregation Shaarey Zedek is a Conservative synagogue located at 27375 Bell Road in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan.-History:...
, Southfield, MichiganSouthfield, MichiganAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 0.04% is water. The main branch of the River Rouge runs through Southfield. The city is bounded to the south by Eight Mile Road, its western border is Inkster Road, and to the east it is bounded by Greenfield Road...
(1962) http://www.shaareyzedek.org/congregational_family/history.php - Temple Beth El, Rochester, New YorkRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
(1963)http://www.tberochester.org
Selected writings
- Communitas: Means of Livelihood and Ways of LifeCommunitasCommunitas is a Latin noun commonly referring either to an unstructured community in which people are equal, or to the very spirit of community. It also has special significance as a loanword in cultural anthropology and the social sciences....
, with Paul Goodman (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1947); revised 2nd edition (New York: Vintage Books, 1960); revised 3rd edition (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990) - “Banning Cars from Manhattan”, with Paul Goodman (essay in DissentDissentDissent is a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or an entity...
(Summer 1961)) - The Double E (Anchor Press, 1977)
- Illustrator for various books by Paul Goodman including: Parents Day; Don Juan: Or, The Continuum of the Libido; and Stop-Light: Five Dance Poems.
Further reading
- Percival Goodman, Kimberly Elman, Angela Giral, Percival Goodman: Architect-Planner-Teacher-Painter (Princeton Architectural PressPrinceton Architectural PressPrinceton Architectural Press is a leading publisher of architecture and design books, with over 500 titles on its backlist. It was founded in 1981 by Kevin Lippert in Princeton, NJ and moved to New York City in 1985. Since 1996, Princeton Architectural Press has been distributed in the...
, 2001).