Cultural Unity Through Design: Inside the Moise Safra Center

Historically, Ashkenazim and Sephardim have flourished in their own spaces. But when a son of Jewish philanthropist Moise Safra set out to open the Moise Safra Center in New York, he was looking to bring them together in a multiuse setting. The resulting 14-story building by Platt Byard Dovell White Architects unites religious, social, and athletic facilities in a clean-lined interior.

Much of its 65,000 square feet centers on a “tone-on-tone palette,” consulting partner Ray Dovell says. On the community levels, which offer fitness studios, basketball, and swimming, the palette is rendered in such materials as bamboo planks and wood-grained porcelain tile. In the center’s double-height Ohel Moshe Synagogue, the approach continues. Dovell and team selected Jerusalem limestone flooring, rift-cut oak millwork, and bronze hardware.

Moments of color enliven the overall setting. Landscapeform’s azure chaise longues appoint the pool, and stained glass mosaics embellish the synagogue doors. Inside, gentle washes of blue and yellow emit from film applied to windows by French artist Daniel Buren.

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