2008 Zabludow Synagogue Door Replication Workshop

During a four-day workshop, some 40 people turned several large logs and pine boards into a full scale model of the section of the 1637 Zabludow synagogue log wall, door jamb, door and forged hinges, using only traditional hand tools. Participants learned how to square the logs with axes and then rip cut the logs with a frame pit saw and a whip pit saw under the leadership of Jim Kricker, Michael Burrey and Pret Woodburn. Read about it.

Medieval Crane at Prague Castle

Handshouse Studio participated in a major international Czech exhbition with 5 Mass Art alums who helped raise and test a human-powered Medieval crane. Period technologies were used to make a replica of a medieval crane based on illustrations from the Wenceslas IV Bible dating from 1390-1400. The company Ars Tignaria prepared the project for Prague Castle. Read more.

Gwozdziec Synagogue Bimah Project

Handshouse Studio held a workshop to build a full-size replica of the Gwozdziec Synagogue's bimah, the elevated platform where a rabbi reads from the Torah. The elaborate bimah is wooden and all hand carved. More info.

Traveling Exhibition: "Wooden Synagogues: A Lost World Revisited"

Magnificent Polish 18th century wooden synagogues were destroyed during the Nazi invasion of World War II, but fortunately they live on in the form of architectural drawings and photos. This traveling exhibition draws on the historic documentation available and scale models built by students to show the architectural significance of the wooden synagogues and the nearly lost cultural heritage of the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. Read more.

Gwozdziec Synagogue
Wooden Ceiling Painting Replica

The Gwozdziec Synagogue was a remarkable wooden synagogue built in the Polish Lithuanian Empire in 1731 and destroyed during World War II. Working with faculty and historic experts, students researched and painted the complex historic images of the north vaulted ceiling. The students brought to life the photographs and showed the broad palate of intense colors that saturated the prayer hall with intricate designs like those of an oriental carpet. Read more.