Seattle, Washington
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A Sukkah is a ritual hut built by Jews across the diaspora to celebrate Sukkot, the annual harvest festival. Rooted in ancient tradition, it is a space for memory, connection, and community, shaped by a set of rigorously defined theological mandates.

This, however, is not a kosher Sukkah. A kosher, or legally sanctioned,  Sukkah must be built and occupied outdoors, fostering a direct connection to one's land, neighbors, and ancestry. A week of driving rain forced a repositioning of the hut indoors, tucked within the atrium of the UW College of Built Environments.
 
Built as a pop-up gallery during the holiday, the Traif (unkosher) Sukkah served as a venue for graduate thesis presentations. Assembled with readily available materials, it provided a simple, full-scale counterpoint to the conceptual Sukkot models on display. The lightly framed pavilion comfortably housed a panel of six jurors—and a lavish spread of lox and bagels—for discussion. Beyond satisfying a personal desire to make construction part of the design process, the project offered a chance to experience the ritual hut in a new context, reframing tradition within the realities of place and circumstance.